# To Fuck With **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 8, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675 "2026-10-08T17:25:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675/21 "2026-10-08T19:28:47Z")
I think he covered all the bases. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675/22 "2026-10-08T20:51:34Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothing. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675/23 "2026-10-08T22:22:45Z")
What I have heard from the younger people I work with is making fuck plural in this instance. Do you like interpretive dance? Yeah, I fucks with that ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675/24 "2026-10-08T22:24:32Z")
This reminds me of the phrase, “Don’t mess with Texas”. Which supposedly originated as a defiant warning from Texas to the rest of the world to not tangle with them. Around the mid-80s, I read that some in financial circles were using the phrase to mean “avoid investing in Texas”, due to plummeting energy prices. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675/25 "2026-10-08T22:36:48Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > “Don’t mess with Texas”. Which supposedly originated as a defiant warning from Texas to the rest of the world to not tangle with them. The hilarious reality is that it came from an anti-litter campaign. If you want a really deep fuck, start with [The F-Word by Jesse Sheidlower](https://www.amazon.com/F-Word-4e-Sheidlower/dp/0197763332/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OEFF1P3FOMT6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JnkaPQYzkDNYcsoi8TyROk20E4L4RedoTTFsUqvOYj62cPAqmZK6m3ZrsGhNA7cq.sM3URS0cswuIy34UmNuRtm8LGhIO02KJq70L2mG4L-Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+f-word+by+jesse+sheidlower&qid=1791498452&sprefix=the+f-word%2Caps%2C306&sr=8-1). Academic but incredibly thorough. For a shorter, milder fuck, it’s one of the [Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever](https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Nasty-Words-English-Forever/dp/0593421388/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1NMRWEATHBWFQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3UrfXcpnDh1pGWXlca1OSDDBDkNvOHSsW65YwVjoiET0RWVlGKtiALpDCS3djTdV3yxORIM2bo8LLZc4OPP0syA402uvyWQ0eW3owGT5tPhQk0Y8teVXYvKZ4BuwZSfuySFlQQ0NGpMemvdl59l9DstErSxTEkguzNMz46Yz1EZwzUx7CcSfh43nv7vc1ggxlwmnMp0yqlRkpJLb7DfjVBwMZ0DG14iSoU9bRFlm46uc8dspjbHw_WUTMPibArFzFoowZE5megkewVOTOZhaqFqFJjSxdBoGDUECMKQ8COA.4W1yEtuewgpqDDTLMOMsU9GLBJ6fqFpQXiAKbS2JxMk&dib_tag=se&keywords=john+mcwhorter&qid=1791498488&sprefix=john+mcwhorter%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-5#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor). I think it’s that John McWhorter book that shows how usage, especially modern usage, fucks with every rule of grammar that determines the use of other words. Prescriptivists beware! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675/26 "2026-10-09T00:12:14Z")
“Don’t mess with Texas” was used to discourage littering, I believe. It may have changed over time. Whatever. Over here in Arkansas we like saying “Texas, don’t mess with Arkansas”. OTOH. I dislike the word “fuck” for normal conversation. If you have a cromulent reason, fine. I can deal with it. What I really hate is teenagers using it, flippantly and with meanings that are confusing. Words mean things. Use the right ones. If you can. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675/27 "2026-10-09T00:17:10Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Over here in Arkansas we like saying “Texas, don’t mess with Arkansas”. Cf. “Don’t Californicate Oregon” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-fuck-with/1033675.md?page=1)