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Is there "Magic" in 4-letter words?

On the whole, I'd really rather people say what was in their mind in the instant, than filter-it and present some weird Bowdler-ised version - that imposes the interpolation task on the rest of us, according to personal values.

Just say It (when we will judge your expressive-illiteracy, as we have had to do, anyway..)



As to why short fricative sounds make-up a goodly dose of swearing in most European languages, and their derivation: well, that is a different, satisfying and wide-ranging discussion for other ****s
 
It reminds me a bit of the Jewish prohibition of uttering or writing "G-d", and all the euphemisms and circumlocutions this has led to for 4,000 years.

I don't get this one, because I thought "God" WAS the euphemism, for Jehovah or Jhwh?
 
Many many years ago when studying Chaucer at university, the lecturer touched upon Chaucer’s use of the c word, explaining that, in her words ‘At that time, of course, the word was current’.

How we laughed (actually we didn’t because she was a slightly scary woman with no sense of humour).
 
The world would be a better place if we all cursed like Roman Maronie in Johnny Dangerously.

 
I don't get this one, because I thought "God" WAS the euphemism, for Jehovah or Jhwh?

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I nearly killed my whole family and my mate in the back seat of a Triumph Herald towing a trailer on a continental holiday. Fortunately it was on one of those wide toll roads in France. My father was a believer and I exclaimed “Christ” for some reason. I was directly behind his driving seat. In his effort to give me a thick ear, the car went into a sort of snake-like rolling dance. Only my mothers screams got both hands back on the wheel and the car was slowly bought under control. Nothing was said; we were all so shocked at how close we had come to disaster.
 
I don't get this one, because I thought "God" WAS the euphemism, for Jehovah or Jhwh?

You can't say or write "God," so sometimes it is written "G-d," or changed to "Adonai" which means "Oh, Lord," or "Hashem," which means "the name." I.e. the name which cannot be pronounced. I've never quite understood how Jehova and Jhwh work.
 
What I find terrible is when people, in whatever language, use an obscenity and then apologise for using it. "If you'll pardon the expression," or "Excuse my French," (In both English and Italian the French seem to come into it, for some reason).
 
Evidently the power, the dramatic value of an obscenity is lost if it is no longer considered obscene. So a person uses an obscene expression but, by apologising for having used it, underlines how obscene it is and therefore how powerful is the idea or emotion being expressed.
 
You can't say or write "God," so sometimes it is written "G-d," or changed to "Adonai" which means "Oh, Lord," or "Hashem," which means "the name." I.e. the name which cannot be pronounced. I've never quite understood how Jehova and Jhwh work.

Sigh... I know that, my point is that "God" is not the proper name of the deity in question.
 
Twat is OK because it was used by Robert Browning in a famous poem. He thought it meant something else, and people back then were too embarrassed to correct him.

I guess maybe it's not a word used much in the US, so doesn't trigger the rude words filter. In the same sort of way, 'fanny pack' doesn't sound half as rude to USians as it does to British people.

I know - I have had to educate Americans about the use of 'fanny' over here on more than a few occasions. Mind you they think that 'Lorry' is hilarious.
 
I remember running into our house aged about 9 or 10 and running up the stairs full of beans shouting c**t b*****d f**k. My father appeared at the top of the stairs, looked at me and said absolutely nothing. Had it been my mother, it would have been a week’s penance.
Around the same age, a group of us were showing off our best words of power in a friend's garden.... his dad appeared without warning and we all feared the worst. The dad looked at us all and muttered
"..... dont use that language around your mother..."
then left..... I always liked and respected him.
 
Ive always worked in environments where strong language was expected amongst colleagues and indicated just how frustrating the work can be.
As Billy Connolly said about his own early working life....
".... The work was very hard so you swore a lot...."
 
I still remember having a good laugh hearing Phil collins say w****r on Miami Vice and before that Paul Hogan's Leo character.
 
^ Yes. No major power - other than endowed on it by virtue of it being a 'restricted' / taboo word. If you took that away, it would lose its shock value, and then we'd all have to move on to using something else.

Always amused me btw that naff as in 'Naff off Fletcher' was introduced in Porridge to give them something abusive to say (as prisoners would) that wouldn't offend the censors :)
Like 'Smeg' and 'Smeghead'?

Now where have I met those words before?

DV
 


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