# Is there any foul language you won't use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 6, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876 "2010-02-06T02:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/21 "2010-02-06T04:05:41Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=550249), which revolves around the only curse word I’m aware of that I just can’t bring myself to use. > > It’s odd. I mean, I grew up as a hard-core Catholic, so I know where it stems from. But I left Catholicism behind in my teen years, and although I’m not quite an atheist these days, I don’t really seem to subscribe in my heart to the idea of a benevolent higher power anymore. > > But still, I seem to have this “just in case” mentality that prevents me from being willing to put “god” into any kind of cursing, particularly when coupled with “damn.” I can’t do it. To the extent that, if I’m singing along to a song that employs the term, I will censor myself. And it’s frustrating, because there are times when that is simply the PERFECT word for a situation. But I still can’t pull the trigger. > > So, am I completely alone in this? Do others share my pain? Or do any of you have your own words, for whatever reason, that you simply won’t use, no matter how much you might be tempted to? Unfortunately I end up spewing such profanity quite easily. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/22 "2010-02-06T04:06:28Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > I never get angry with people so it does not come up. This does not compute. Teach me the way, oh Jedi master. Not swearing at people is pretty easy. But swearing with others that can let off a nice string of profanities is very satisfying, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/23 "2010-02-06T04:23:57Z")
People can usually tell how pissed-off I am by what language I swear in. Russian or French = annoyed Spanish = pissed-off Italian = _really_ pissed-off English = homicidal If I get to the English stage, there are **no** “forbidden” words. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/24 "2010-02-06T04:41:23Z")
No ethnic slurs or calling people “homo” - that’s retarded. Everything else is fair game. Though I sometimes catch myself saying “bloody fucking hell”, I tend to keep it Dutch. Dutch is a _much_ better language to swear in, especially if you’ve just hurt yourself godverdegodverdegodverdekuttyfustering \<- 3 x blasphemy, genitalia and two diseases. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/25 "2010-02-06T04:55:17Z")
There’s some I won’t use…aside from forms prefixed with “sand-”. I kid, I kid! Unless I’m really angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m that angry. Seriously, though, most of the curses I won’t use (clearly racist, sexist, or homophobic stuff), it just doesn’t _occur_ to me to use—it’d just feel forced. I’ll admit to occasionally using “gay,” but only in a fairly literal sense. I.e. “Joel Schumacher’s _Batman and Robin_ was really gay.” Occasionally, in private, “retarded” as well—this one I feel the most guilt about, as it is both rude, hurtful, and undeserved. As most people with genuine mental or neurological disabilities would never display that unique blend of stupid and crazy that the term “retarded” usually describes. Blasphemy’s A-OK in my book, though. Christ on a _stick!_ ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/26 "2010-02-06T04:56:33Z")
No racial or homosexual slurs or the word retarded. No c–t or c–cksucker. Also, I never swear directly at people. My husband used to swear at me; and do all of the aforementioned. We haven’t lived together for a year. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/27 "2010-02-06T05:04:46Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > … most people with genuine mental or neurological disabilities would never display that unique blend of stupid and crazy that the term “retarded” usually describes. Now, see, this is why retarded is a perfectly good insult! It has nothing at all to do with people that have neurological disabilities! ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/28 "2010-02-06T05:12:18Z")
I do not say the c-word or the n-word. I just find them hateful. I try to save my profanity for when I need it. If I use the f-word freely, what the heck do I say when I drop a hammer on my foot? There’d be nothing left in the profanity arsenal. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/29 "2010-02-06T07:37:55Z")
JC or JFC, in fact I don’t ever say the J or the C at all. I guess it has to do with not wanting to give the impression that I’m a believer. I rarely say “god” at all. I will, however, say goddamn until the cows come home. Racial or ethnic slurs. “Sucks”, because well I do that and I’m damn good at it. 😃 Also I never say f_g or “that’s gay”, and after coming out I broke myself of the habit of saying c_\*\*suck(er/ing). Thing is, now I’m trying to break myself of the habit of saying “that’s so straight.” ---
**Author:** ![dragoncat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@dragoncat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragoncat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/30 "2010-02-06T07:38:59Z")
I won’t say the N word. I won’t use homophobic slurs (though will use the term dyke, but not as an insult, as I am one myself). This includes “c\*cksucker.” I will not call inanimate objects “gay” because inanimate objects do not have sexuality. (Except perhaps a gay bookstore or something like that.) I won’t use ethnic slurs. I use the term “bitch,” but will not call a man/boy a “son of” one. I won’t use terms such as “girl” or “pussy” to insult men who are supposedly not acting manly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Nathan\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/47e85d/32.png) [@Nathan\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nathan_S)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/31 "2010-02-06T10:52:22Z")
No blasphemy for me. Yeah, I know, in English that’s not really a problem anymore, but in Italy, where I live, blasphemy is alive and well. So, I get to pick and choose my cuss words from two languages, but, like I said, no blasphemy for me, thanks. Everything else is just fine, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/32 "2010-02-06T11:29:00Z")
Used to it was all of them. And it pretty much is in real life to other people. But, with the withdrawal on its sixth month and worse than when it started, I’ve started occasionally saying either shit or fuck. I also use that language in the Pit, but that’s mostly because I find it really hard to get across my anger in text form. Add in hell, and that’s pretty much all I use. Everything else is off-limits. Especially ethnic slurs: I can’t even imaging using them. Blasphemy similarly never crosses my mind. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/33 "2010-02-06T15:11:46Z")
No slurs about race, ethnicity, sexual preference. No c-word. Other than that, anything goes … and does. I’m a fucking potty-mouth. ETA: I will, however, play all kinds of _verboten_ words (that it would never in a million years occur to me to say aloud) in Scrabble. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/34 "2010-02-06T15:15:51Z")
My strongest word is hell. I have to be really upset for that to come out of my mouth, like 3x/year upset. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/35 "2010-02-06T15:22:16Z")
‘Cunt’ is a great weapon in American English to use in dire circumstances. It is the tactical nuke to use against females that deserve it. The upside is that there is no possible effective response from the other side because there is no male equivalent. I have dropped it in mid-sentence a few times without raising my voice at all when the situation called for it. The results are always predictable but that is what I wanted in the first place so males have a strong upper-hand in the vocabulary arsenal when things start to go to DEFCON ONE. I think it can be a great tool but has to be used very carefully and deliberately. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/36 "2010-02-06T15:31:08Z")
One thing I don’t use is the c-word and the n-word. If for some reason I’m going to use the word cunt or nigger I will. Partly, because I find the euphemisms silly and partly because the likeliest place I’d be using either word would be in an official report. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/37 "2010-02-06T15:35:59Z")
> [@](#): > > ‘Cunt’ is a great weapon in American English to use in dire circumstances. It is the tactical nuke to use against females that deserve it. The upside is that there is no possible effective response from the other side because there is no male equivalent. I have dropped it in mid-sentence a few times without raising my voice at all when the situation called for it. The results are always predictable but that is what I wanted in the first place so males have a strong upper-hand in the vocabulary arsenal when things start to go to DEFCON ONE. I think it can be a great tool but has to be used very carefully and deliberately. And I suppose in an argument with a black person you always have the theoretical option of calling them a nigger. As in your example, it would generally be a devastating attack to which they would be unable to respond in kind. So I guess in that sense you would have “won”. Except you’d be the kind of person who would call somebody a nigger or a cunt. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/38 "2010-02-06T15:48:40Z")
I’m a woman, I use the word “cunt”, but I use it against men, too. I rarely get into situations where I’d actually swear at someone where they could hear it - behind their back, when some stupid cunt of a driver cuts me off cause the phone conversation is waaay more interesting than traffic, etc. I don’t use slurs on sexuality or race/ethnicity. I don’t really say “retarded”, but I do use “idiot” a whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/39 "2010-02-06T16:06:07Z")
C U Next Tuesday. I don’t have any hard rules against racial slurs, but mostly because I don’t recall finding myself in a mindset where racial slurs mattered. Sometimes, in conversation, I might repeat racial slurs I’ve heard directed at me or at others, but I don’t think that counts – it’s journalism. I occasionally say, “that’s really gay,” but only with gay friends who use the same expression. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876/40 "2010-02-06T16:24:41Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > ‘Cunt’ is a great weapon in American English to use in dire circumstances. It is the tactical nuke to use against females that deserve it. The upside is that there is no possible effective response from the other side because there is no male equivalent. I have dropped it in mid-sentence a few times without raising my voice at all when the situation called for it. The results are always predictable but that is what I wanted in the first place so males have a strong upper-hand in the vocabulary arsenal when things start to go to DEFCON ONE. I think it can be a great tool but has to be used very carefully and deliberately. I would laugh in your face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-foul-language-you-wont-use/527876.md?page=3)