Yes, the four-letter word that, if you speak it, your mother will make you wash your mouth with soap. The word that entices negative responses, excites disorderly conduct, induces physical and verbal altercations, and most of all, offends majority of Americans in conversations and gestures. The four-letter word, if used in a song, you will see “explicit” with a red rectangle or a label which says “parental advisory explicit content.” The four-letter word, if used in a book, many will condemn it as being filthy; if used in a movie, it will be rated “R” for restricted. Teenagers use it as way of conveying their independence and maturity, oh and to shock parents into utter silence. Most adults that I know use it simply because they slip or that there is no other word could express their frustration better.
The four-letter word that many want to use it, love to use it; but will substitute it with the less offensive, milder versions: eff, frigging, freaking, fudge (my favorite), flipping, F-ing. Or call it a “F-bomb”, “F-word"…etc. As if the substitution makes their statements stronger still, just without the spice – kind of like decaffeinate coffee – you get the taste but no caffeine which to some is a total waste. Most people will nod their heads and agree that this word is vulgar, crude and downright repulsive. And I am not here to disagree; though, it certainly won’t be the reason that keeps me from seeing the movie “The King’s Speech.”
Not seeing “The King’s Speech” because there are a couple of scenes filled with this four-letter word is similar to someone refuses to eat an organic apple because there is a worm in it. The apple is perfectly ripen yet crunch still; its shiny color of red with a tangy of green is as appealing as the fruit that Eve handed to Adam; the smell of it will remind you of the beautiful autumn days when you walk around the apple orchard. Once you take a bite, and let the sweet juice swirling in your mouth, your teeth and tongue work together so harmoniously to bring you the sensation of taste, smell and texture of one delicious apple, you laugh and say “YUM!” Later, you will keep looking for an apple just like this one - with or without the worm. So yeah, the movie is as good as an apple and you gotta see it!
I did a bit of research to learn more about this horrid expression (hey, I take this four-letter word seriously!), and everyone knows that Wikipedia is the most reliable and accurate source on the web. Mr. D is rolling his eyes right now and says to me “I am so glad you put your research skill to a very important topic.” His mood has soured after I told him that his theory of the origin of the word is purely urban legend, again, according to the Internet. He insists that the word was originated in 1700s to cite prostitutes “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” in England; and that Van Halen borrowed it as a title for one of their albums. After I rattle out what I’ve learned from Wikipedia (and thank Heavens, he didn’t yell out “Objection!”), his comment was “I want to see some solid citations.” My retort was “Oh, really? Where would you research a word like f-u-c-k?”
“Well, the Oxford English Dictionary.” he replied.
“Yeah? I would’ve except your prudent ancestors did not put this word in a dictionary until 1972!” He murmured something sounded very much like “f--k!” If you wish to know what I've learned, here are some links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Ok, it’s time for confession: this four-letter word has never quite bothered me. It doesn’t sound much different than duck, buck, luck, muck; in other words, it does not have the same intensity a natural English speaker perceives. The word does not have the same nastiness to me – not as “f--k” in Chinese, anyway. (Don’t ask me how to say it in Chinese; I am not one to use such profanity.) The best example is the word “bloody”. According to Mr. D, who is not a reliable source for information as I’ve established earlier, “bloody” is the equivalent of “f--king” for British people. Using “bloody” in a sentence, it is hardly offensive to anyone (unless you are a Brit.) Now that you know, if I happen to drop a bloody F-bomb in front of you, would you pardon me?
