# Didn't your mother teach you not to say "fucking" in a restaurant? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 29, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414 "2011-11-29T03:34:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/21 "2011-11-29T14:46:13Z")
…owned by a guy named Phuc Vu Dong. Some people say “fuck” the way others say “um” or “like.” I don’t think they’re even aware of it, and if you pointed it out they’d probably tell you to fuck the fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/22 "2011-11-29T14:57:07Z")
I’d also like to point out that you don’t need to get a banker drunk to make him swear. I work for a bank - back office, not branch - we swear like longshoremen 'round these parts. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/23 "2011-11-29T15:03:05Z")
[Don’t shop here, then.](http://lisnews.org/node/34933/) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/24 "2011-11-29T15:24:29Z")
I can safely say that I never received any instructions from my mother about not saying “fucking” in a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/25 "2011-11-29T15:31:47Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > [Don’t shop here, then.](http://lisnews.org/node/34933/) He can [eat here](http://www.yelp.com/biz/fu-king-chinese-restaurant-lake-city), though. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/26 "2011-11-29T15:48:51Z")
I like to say fuck a lot, but I have an impressive ability to switch it off. I have friend who doesn’t have this ability, seemingly at all. When we go out, I always make sure to pick a restaurant with a noisy bar, because then I’m not self conscious about his constant swearing. A few months back we went to a nice family place, there were kids celebrating their birthdays and whatnot. Shit, fuck, fucking shit, goddamn fucking shit. I had to keep reminding him that there were kids around like he was a child. So yeah, +1 to the OP. I don’t understand how people can grow up without this skill. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/27 "2011-11-29T15:50:29Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Yeah, I’ve noticed the quality of the place doesn’t necessarily matter. I was having a drink in the bar area of a nice Michelin-starred place here in Chicago just a few weeks ago (not going there on my dime, which is even better), waiting for the rest of my party, when I realized that the gentleman next to me was “regaling” his companion with explicit details of exactly what excisions and other things his dermatologist had done to him. Ew. Mrs. J. and I were eating in a nice seafood restaurant awhile back, and had the privilege of being in the booth next to a couple of colonoscopy equipment salesmen who were graphically describing the ins and outs of the business. It takes quite a bit to gross out a pathologist and spouse however. Loud fucking cellphone conversations in restaurants with fuck this and that every other sentence can be annoying too. “Were you brought up in a barn?” doesn’t seem to be any more effective a comeback than “Shut the fuck up!!!” ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/28 "2011-11-29T16:03:48Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I can safely say that I never received any instructions from my mother about not saying “fucking” in a restaurant. \ Excellent! The first thing I thought when I saw the thread title was, “Um, not really.” ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/29 "2011-11-29T16:21:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Mrs. J. and I were eating in a nice seafood restaurant awhile back, and had the privilege of being in the booth next to a couple of colonoscopy equipment salesmen who were graphically describing the ins and outs of the business. It takes quite a bit to gross out a pathologist and spouse however. Yeah, I work in medical research and was going to dine with a doctor, so it wasn’t particularly disgusting to **me** , but I was thinking about the others around us. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/30 "2011-11-29T17:07:10Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Loud fucking cellphone conversations in restaurants with fuck this and that every other sentence can be annoying too. “Were you brought up in a barn?” doesn’t seem to be any more effective a comeback than “Shut the fuck up!!!” Not just in restaurants. Last night on a very crowded train I (and I assume others) overheard a guy telling his friend to “suck my dick.” Really? Did we need to hear that? Basic decorum seems to be beyond a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/31 "2011-11-29T17:52:48Z")
The Supreme Court has roundly rejected prior restraint! ---
**Author:** ![elninost0rm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@elninost0rm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elninost0rm)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/32 "2011-11-29T18:24:34Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > For fuck’s sake, must you fucking quote the entire fucking OP in the first fucking response? > Fuck! Considering the film, not a bad U/P combo. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/33 "2011-11-29T18:37:30Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Mrs. J. and I were eating in a nice seafood restaurant awhile back, and had the privilege of being in the booth next to a couple of colonoscopy equipment salesmen who were graphically describing\*\* the ins and outs \*\*of the business. Nice. > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > “So is the liver!” > _- Alexander Portnoy_ Fucking nice! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/34 "2011-11-29T18:44:58Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > For fuck’s sake, must you fucking quote the entire fucking OP in the first fucking response? > Fuck! You took the words out of my mouth. > [@tdn](#): > > Not just in restaurants. Last night on a very crowded train I (and I assume others) overheard a guy telling his friend to “suck my dick.” Really? Did we need to hear that? > > Basic decorum seems to be beyond a lot of people. Yup. When my husband and I are out in public, I’ve noticed that we tend to drop the volume of our voices so that we can just hear each other, not broadcast our conversation to the world at large. Not everyone does that; I wish they would. The only time we get louder with the swearing is at our local pub, where families keep mistaking it for a family restaurant and bringing their kids in. Hey, it’s a fucking sports pub - time for your five year old to learn how people talk in fucking sports pubs! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/35 "2011-11-29T18:45:36Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Or a vietnamese place called The Pho King. Used to be a restaurant around these parts called Fook Yuen. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/36 "2011-11-29T18:51:24Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Yup. When my husband and I are out in public, I’ve noticed that we tend to drop the volume of our voices so that we can just hear each other, not broadcast our conversation to the world at large. Not everyone does that; I wish they would. He wasn’t even very loud, but he could clearly be heard. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/37 "2011-11-29T19:00:34Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Not just in restaurants. Last night on a very crowded train I (and I assume others) overheard a guy telling his friend to “suck my dick.” Really? Did we need to hear that? > > Basic decorum seems to be beyond a lot of people. A crowded train: I’m figuring there were some children present, or at least that one couldn’t assume that there definitely would be some running around. > [@steronz](#): > > I like to say fuck a lot, but I have an impressive ability to switch it off. I have friend who doesn’t have this ability, seemingly at all. When we go out, I always make sure to pick a restaurant with a noisy bar, because then I’m not self conscious about his constant swearing. A few months back we went to a \*\*nice family place, there were kids celebrating their birthdays \*\*and whatnot. Shit, fuck, fucking shit, goddamn fucking shit. I had to keep reminding him that there were kids around like he was a child. > > So yeah, +1 to the OP. I don’t understand how people can grow up without this skill. {Emphasis added}I’m glad you mentioned family restaurants, as I was about to do so. > [@Frank](#): > > **Not a dive** , not top of the line either. $15-20 entrees. **A quiet place, not even music** , just the ambience of people talking and eating… {Emphasis added}While I’m essentially sympathetic to your opinion expressed here, it did bother me a bit that there was emphasis on it not being a dive, but rather moderately pricey. I’d say that this really shouldn’t be a consideration here. (What you said about it being quiet is relevant, though.) In general, I’d favor people keeping their potty mouths at home, entirely, rather than show them off in general-public places (at the risk of sounding like a total prude). The factors I would consider most important would be: \> Are there children present, or are they likely to walk in? \> How loudly are the [expetive deleted] people in question talking? \> How much background noise is there? (Unless the above is **extremly**?) And then: Just how repetitive is the foul stuff? I could see someone reacting to a great surprise, good or bad, with an over-the-top expression which may include profanity. Once, preferrably. Like I say, I’m not a prude. But still… (Most modern version of sig left off for questionable content.) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/38 "2011-11-29T19:02:01Z")
\*\* Didn’t your mother teach you not…“fucking” in a restaurant?\*\* [Apparently not.](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/bigeast/2009-08-11-pitino_N.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/39 "2011-11-29T19:05:23Z")
No, she did not. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414/40 "2011-11-29T19:07:55Z")
In a restaurant (with tablecloths) I use “having intercourse” in place of “fucking”. I’m suave and debonair, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-your-mother-teach-you-not-to-say-fucking-in-a-restaurant/604414.md?page=3)