A recent use of the word ‘friggin’ (which is a common alternative to ‘fucking’ where I come from) by me triggered this question: Why, in BSG (Battlestar Galactica, the new version) do they use ‘frack’ as the alternative to ‘fuck’ rather than ‘frig’?
‘frig’ sounds a lot better as it is an established alternative, but I suspect the answer to this thread is that it’s not an established alternative outside the UK.
So are my suspicions cor-friggin-rect?
It’s a made-up curse from the original series. It’s pretty much the equivilent of Red Dwarf’s “smeg”.
Even ‘smeg’ is better than ‘frack’. ‘frack’ sounds so… silly.
Swapping one vowel for another (‘a’ for ‘i’) would be a vast improvement.
Frak, dren, smeg, grife, sprock, frell…
Science Fiction fairly often creates new swearwords instead of using real, earthly words, naughty or not.
It’s part of worldbuilding.
Well, if you ask me the whole damn show is stupid and I’ve no clue why they brought it back.
“Smeg” is the best made up swear word ever.
In Scrubs, Eliot’s word is “frick”.
That does sound better than frack, I think. (I also like it better than “frig”).
First, the Galactica that is is not the Galactica that was. The Galactica that is is a much, much better show. I’ts actually, like, good, man.
Second, where the frack have you been? I’m getting tired of taking care of your fracking ant farm, man!
Because, as the OP said, “frig” is an established alternative to “fuck”. But if you’re, say, shooting at Evil Robot Spaceships while hideously sleep-deprived, you’re not likely to care about using alternatives to swear words - you’ll say whatever you bloody well feel like. “Frack” allows the actors to convey that yes, they are in fact “really” swearing, without running afoul of the FCC or equivelent agencies abroad.
I’m kind of partial to “slag,” when used as an epithet, myself.
I always liked Niven’s “Tanj” as in “tanj it!” It stands for “There Ain’t No Justice.”
But, no, it doesn’t quite have the visceral impact of those old Anglo-Saxon cuss words we are all so fond of.
Has anyone in new BSG said “felgercarb” yet?
They use “frack” because they wanted a word that sounded like it might be dirty but actually meant nothing, and could therefore offend nobody.
“Frig” actually does mean something, and is a real-world dirty word, not an inoffensive euphemism for “fuck”.
I always assumed that the insult, ‘smeg-head’ was derived from ‘smegma’, the apparently cheese-like substance that will collect under the foreskins of unhygenic uncircumcised men.
I assumed it was an inventive way of calling Rimmer a dick-head.
Perhaps I swear too much.
MiM
Um um um um um um ummmmmmmmmmmm…I’m tellling mommy you said a bad word!
Frig is a real-world euphemism for female masturbation (am I allowed to say that here?) at least in the UK. I suspect frigging (whatever) became popular simply because it sounds like f**king (something) without being nearly as rude, but there the relationship ends.
They should swear in Moronie-speak (from Johnny Dangerously).
You farging ice-holes!! You miserable cork-sucker!! Suminonbatch!!
But that’s how it started out, way back when. I remember saying to a friend at the time. 'Give it 15 years and the God Botherers will be treating frig as a swear word and TV will have to invent another euphemism.
No. “Frig” meant masturbation in Victorian times, which I’m quite sure was some time before you were commenting to your friend about it. The fact that some people were unaware of this and thought it was an inoffensive euphemism has nothing to do with it.
And yet, no one did ask you.
–Cliffy