# the word Fuck **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236 "2003-03-30T17:22:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/21 "2003-03-31T01:10:24Z")
Fuck is just so fucking versatile. There are several websites that detail the supposed entymofglg… fuck that, the word history of the word, including instances and examples. Many are fictitious and fallacious examples, but look them up for some inspiration. If you don’t feel like it, I can fucking summarize you lazy fuck. Emphasiser. Compare “Oh, Hell” to “Fucking Hell”. BIG difference there, hey shorty? Verb. Fucking, the act of making sweet sweet chocolatey love. Fucking off. Getting fucked. Adjective modifier thingy. Compare “That’s just great”, to “That’s just fucking great” (best used on a girl falsely accused of rifling thru someone else’s shit (obscure thread reference)). Et fucking cetera. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/22 "2003-03-31T01:12:38Z")
I just realised that the first one and the last one are EXACTLY THE SAME. What a fucking idiot. In penance, I submit the following Fuck Variations, much like the Goldberg Variations but much more pleasant sounding. Fuckwit, fuckwad, fuckwipe, fucknut, fuckchuck, fuckass… the list goes on forever. And I mean forever. ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/23 "2003-03-31T01:21:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PurplePerson \* > **Ok, lets switch to the word s** t. You guys did such a good job with the first word. Why is poop not satisfying. Isn’t it equally disgusting, but why doesn’t it relieve stress when spoken or yelled out loud. \*\* Well, poop is just such a soft, wimpy-sounding, juvenile word. If you didn’t know what it meant, it would be a “cute” word. Although, to digress for a second, there’s little that’s more revolting than some woman, and, sorry ladies, it’s always a woman, calling someone else “poopsie”. Shit, at least, has a more aggressive sound to it. What I’d really like to know, and I’m sorry if this turns out to be a highjack, is why women so strenuously, sometimes hysterically, and, in my experience, _universally_ object to the word cunt. I know it’s demeaning; so is prick, but we men don’t go postal over that one. Oddly enough, I’ve never been called a cock, although that has a more aggressive sound, and is more similar to cunt. For some reason, it’s never been popularized as a curse, on its own. Anyway, women go far more ballistic over cunt than they do over twat, whore, slut, or any other insult I can think of. I find this odd. Does it have some secret meaning to women, that they’ve managed to keep secret from all us guys for hundreds of years? Anyone got the straight dope on this one? ---
**Author:** ![PurplePerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PurplePerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurplePerson)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/24 "2003-03-31T01:22:06Z")
Is the word bloody really a bad work in Great Britain? If they get a cut do they say, there is red plasma coming out of my wound? ---
**Author:** ![PurplePerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PurplePerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurplePerson)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/25 "2003-03-31T01:23:22Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/26 "2003-03-31T01:25:31Z")
Apparently it is, or at least was. A common, perhaps slightly less vulgar variation was “bleeding”. Ah, bleedin’ 'ell Scotty, you’ve really buggered it up this time. Bugger. I assume you all know what that refers to. Them wacky Brits. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/27 "2003-03-31T01:27:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PurplePerson \* > \*\*Is the word bloody really a bad work in Great Britain? If they get a cut do they say, there is red plasma coming out of my wound? \*\* ‘Bloody’ is on par with ‘damn’ It is quite mild. Probably commonly used by the upper classes. “What the bloody hell do you think you are doing man!” ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/28 "2003-03-31T01:30:40Z")
> [@](#): > > “Fork” is pretty good, too. Fick, Fack, Fork is a favorite expression of mine. I use it in mixed company. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/29 "2003-03-31T01:37:08Z")
Fuck is just so fucking appropriate in a multitude of situations. It’s short and to the fucking point. No one can fucking misunderstand what the fuck you mean. Fuck…it’s not just for breakfast anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/30 "2003-03-31T01:38:21Z")
“Nobody says a fucking word about my fucking king.” Sometimes it’s the perfect word. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/31 "2003-03-31T02:41:23Z")
Actually, “fick” is the word fuck in German… ---
**Author:** ![Jonno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jonno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonno)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/32 "2003-03-31T02:54:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lsura \* > \*\*Oh marklar. \*\* Smurf off. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/33 "2003-03-31T07:10:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*‘Bloody’ is on par with ‘damn’ > > It is quite mild. Probably commonly used by the upper classes. “What the bloody hell do you think you are doing man!” \*\* [hijack] I will now share a conversation I had once with an American girl on a kibbutz. Her: You used to live in England, didn’t you? Me: Well, Scotland. Close enough\* Her: I’ve always wondered - is “bloody” a really bad word in England. Me: [somewhat nonplussed] Not really. Sort of … ummm … mild swearword I guess. Her: Oh. I thought it was sort of like “Dee Aye Emm Enn” is in America At this point the conversation ceased, since my head exploded at the thought that anyone, anywhere, considered “damn” a bad enough word to have to be _spelled out_. And considering that pretty much everyone else I met there could curse like sailors, I wonder how she survived as long as she did! - never let my SNP ex-flatmate hear I said that! ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/34 "2003-03-31T11:24:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PurplePerson \* > **Ok, lets switch to the word s** t. You guys did such a good job with the first word. Why is poop not satisfying. Isn’t it equally disgusting, but why doesn’t it relieve stress when spoken or yelled out loud. \*\* Shittard, shithat…hey, that’s not bad! ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/35 "2003-03-31T11:29:49Z")
I always like it when someone gets so angry or frustrated by something that they mess up even as they’re trying to swear; a friend of mine was expressing his anger regarding the attitudes of some fundamentalist Christians who had cornered him in a restaraunt, and all he could say was “Jesus fuckshit!” ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/36 "2003-03-31T12:01:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Davebear \* > **What I’d really like to know, and I’m sorry if this turns out to be a highjack, is why women so strenuously, sometimes hysterically, and, in my experience, _universally_ object to the word cunt. I know it’s demeaning; so is prick, but we men don’t go postal over that one.** There was a thread on this recently. It’s hard to rationalise, other than it’s perhaps a later-breaking taboo (despite DH Lawrence) - eg it’s less common than fuck, but also I have found that the sort of men who use cunt as an insult are usually extremely misgynistic men. It’s not just an insult, it’s a sexist-intended insult, it’s demeaning. Whereas “prick” - although etymologically based on a man’s body - doesn’t come with quite that sexist intention. At least not in the nuances I perceive. It carries the weight of “bastard”, but doesn’t feel specifically “anti-men” or “men hate”. ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/37 "2003-03-31T17:27:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > \*\*There was a thread on this recently. It’s hard to rationalise, other than it’s perhaps a later-breaking taboo (despite DH Lawrence) - eg it’s less common than fuck, but also I have found that the sort of men who use cunt as an insult are usually extremely misgynistic men. It’s not just an insult, it’s a sexist-intended insult, it’s demeaning. Whereas “prick” - although etymologically based on a man’s body - doesn’t come with quite that sexist intention. At least not in the nuances I perceive. It carries the weight of “bastard”, but doesn’t feel specifically “anti-men” or “men hate”. \*\* You may be right about the sexist slant. I must have missed the previous thread you’re referring to. I don’t think you can really call it a late-breaking taboo, though, when you’re talking about one of the oldest words in the English language. Both fuck and cunt are carry-overs from Anglo-Saxon. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/38 "2003-03-31T18:22:41Z")
"Step 4 don’t say fuck anymore Because fuck is the worst word that you can say! Yes fuck is the worst word that you can say! You shouldn’t say fuck, no you shouldn’t say fuck, no you shouldn’t say fuck fuck no! It’s easy, mmm’kay." ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/39 "2003-03-31T20:57:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Davebear \* > \*\*You may be right about the sexist slant. I must have missed the previous thread you’re referring to. I don’t think you can really call it a late-breaking taboo, though, when you’re talking about one of the oldest words in the English language. Both fuck and cunt are carry-overs from Anglo-Saxon. \*\* Yes - and poor old DH Lawrence tried to reinstil some earthy charm in the word, to zero avail! Unlike a university friend who actually called her \*\*\* her “cunt”, not crudely, it sounded really good and right, sort of natural. Hard to describe. Maybe like the Wif of Bath and her “queynte” in the Canterbury Tales, if my hazy memory serves. I am sure if I called mine that it would just sound awful. What I meant by taboos was that “fuck” has been quite widespread for quite a while now. The first “fuck” on TV happened quite long before the first “cunt”. You can get away with a fuck on TV (ok I’m talking about the word here!) much more easily than a cunt. Anyway we should all be glad English has such great expletives. Other languages have really scant amounts. In Arabic the only way I can find to say fuck translates literally to “your mother’s cunt” or “your sister’s cunt”. Not very nice to have to bring a third party in, IMO, and quite sexist 😉 ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236/40 "2003-03-31T21:00:59Z")
Here’s **astro’s** thread on the c-word. It was simply titled: [**Cunt!**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=152490&highlight=cunt) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-fuck/165236.md?page=1)