I think he covered all the bases. ![]()
I thought this thread was going to be about Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothing.
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
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.
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. 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. 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!
“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.
Cf. “Don’t Californicate Oregon”