# The original word is fuckING. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 21, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483 "2005-07-21T15:37:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/21 "2005-07-21T20:34:20Z")
Neil Gaiman used ‘fucken’ in **American Gods** , spoken by someone with an Irish accent. When his editors tried to fix it, he had it changed back. ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/22 "2005-07-21T21:46:24Z")
Hmm . . . I’d accept special dispensation for fooken, particularly for Irish dialect, but not fucken–it just looks wrong. Good thing I’m not in charge I guess . . . By the way I’m told that the capital of Ireland is often mispronounced by foreigners. It is spelled _Dublin_ but should be pronounced _FookenDublin_. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/23 "2005-07-21T21:57:07Z")
I’m a big fan of “‘k’n’”, as in “'k’n’oath\*, it’s hot today.” \*Pronounced approximately as keh-noath ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/24 "2005-07-21T21:58:50Z")
Isn’t Fucken™ an accounting package? I hear it referred to quite often around tax time. Oh, btw, Daniel, you’re a frog-in-a-duck-in-a-chicken _genius_!! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/25 "2005-07-21T22:17:57Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Oh, btw, Daniel, you’re a frog-in-a-duck-in-a-chicken _genius_!! Thanks! Now my plan is to buy a poultry processing plant, and schedule a meeting with the snootiest Parisian chef I can, intimating that I have a wonderful new product for him to sell in his restaurant. He might chase me around the kitchen with his butcher’s knife, but it’ll be worth it. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![The\_Highwayman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Highwayman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Highwayman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/26 "2005-07-21T22:24:33Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > As in, “ **Y’all’re** fuckin’ crazy, man.” But _that_ is OK, right? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/27 "2005-07-21T22:25:04Z")
Sorry, that was me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Highwayman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Highwayman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Highwayman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/28 "2005-07-21T22:29:10Z")
Here I am (really). I’m sorry but “fucken” is the spelling I choose over “fucking” which sounds too upper crusty for me. Another reason is that “fuckING” implies that one would with to have coitus with the entire ING Coporation. I’m not condoning such behavior. Pardon me officer but if it pleases the language police I’ll try really hard to correct my spelling… Yeah fucken right! ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/29 "2005-07-21T22:38:57Z")
About 20 years ago, there was an Elementary School near my friend’s house and we used to walk by it every day. On the fence of this school there was a sign that warned drivers to watch out for children, and some graffiti artist had added a couple of words to the sign that I found hilarious. The sign read (added words in not-bold): **SLOW DOWN** asshole **CHILDREN CROSSING** fucken **BE CAREFUL** Even though I hated the fact that the anonymous wit had not spelled “fuckin’” correctly, I still derived much amusement from the sign, and eventually grew forgiving when seeing the word spelled as “fucken.” ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/30 "2005-07-22T03:50:54Z")
No one’s mentioned “fuggin”. I’ve seen that on many a message board. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/31 "2005-07-22T03:56:43Z")
We took cans of compressed air, removed their labels, and created new labels with markers, anointing the product “FUG.” Therefore, if you can’t fix it, FUG it. ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/32 "2005-07-22T04:27:54Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I always thought it was “razzle-frazzis.” > > ISTM that “fucken” is a corruption of “fooken”. It always struck me as an English-soccer-hooliganism. Its fokin’, and its Irish. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/33 "2005-07-22T04:48:14Z")
And one can’t forget that old Supreme Court-rejection-related-phrase “getting pfükked,” which _The Daily Show_’s Rob Corddry enlightened us to recently. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/34 "2005-07-22T04:56:03Z")
What I can’t stand is people who say "feck or “fecking.” Although we might need a separate thread for that, called **The original word is fUcking**. 😉 ---
**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:** [July 22, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/35 "2005-07-22T07:07:52Z")
So I guess “fuggen” is also right out, then? ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/36 "2005-07-22T08:29:28Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Isn’t Fucken a little town in Germany, that keeps getting their town signs stolen? Not, it’s an Austrian town and it’s spelled correctly, [Fucking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria). ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/37 "2005-07-22T09:20:19Z")
“Fucken” just continues to look wrong no matter how many times I see others use it. If I don’t want the whole word, I write (and say) fuckin’. “Fucken” looks like a committee got together to decide how to handle such a beastly word – “I know! Let’s spell it differently! That’ll do the trick!” ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/38 "2005-07-22T09:37:59Z")
Well you could always tell an annoying person to “go **f** ornicate **u** nder **c** onsent of the **k** ing, Sir!” Or is it “Go **f** ile yourself **u** nder **c** arnal **k** nowledge, you reprobate!” Incidentally, there is a town in Austria called [Fucking.](http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/austria.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/39 "2005-07-22T10:39:35Z")
> [@The Highwayman](#): > > I’m sorry but “fucken” is the spelling I choose over “fucking” which sounds too upper crusty for me. I’m sorry… what? Where in Creation are you from that “fucking” is upper-crusty? Let me introduce you to my ex’s parents. Meeting you would incinerate them on the spot. I’ll bring marshmallows. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483/40 "2005-07-22T12:51:03Z")
Well, cultural differences and all. Fucken is the word here (IMHO). Fucking is not the adjective. Of course they are used interchangeably and no-one here gets all PC on a word that is pretty much colloquial. I think you almost beat **mswas** for lamest pit thread of the week. Almost. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-word-is-fucking/313483.md?page=3)