(Disclaimer: If you are uncomfortable with offensive language use….do not read this blog. And if you love the F-bomb as much as I do. Read on.)
Words are weird. The way they look, sound, and the manner in which they're used. And who decides what word is used for what? And when exactly does Mr. Webster decide a word is worthy enough to be inducted into the dictionary?
These questions ensued during a long drive from Nashville to Cookeville then to Knoxville (what's with all the "villes" in the south?) It even continued on the even longer trip home. Let me back up for a second. The legendary Ms. Amy & I were trippin' (as in road trippin') out to east Tennessee last week and somehow during our highly intellectual conversation, this topic developed. A plethora of words were discussed and analyzed in our "weird word" discussion. The first of which was "f*ck." Yep….we deeply analyzed it. We did discuss other words, but this particular word will be the topic of this particular blog due to it's unique characteristics. I'm not sure how many people make it a habit to analyze words in normal conversation (unless you're in the Communication Studies graduate department at NMSU, where Morgan's seminars often lead into after-dinner conversations of Saussure's idea of the signifier & signified), but we did. The verdict of our scrutinization? Basically, that this word is borderline amazing.
First of all, it is just fun to say.
Go ahead, say it. "F*ck."
Feels good, doesn't it?
Regardless of how well it rolls off the tongue, there is more concrete reasoning behind the amazingness (does "amazingness" even count as a word?) of "f*ck." It has numerous functions and meanings. It can be used as a noun, adjective, or even as an interjection. Plus, it is considered both a formal word AND a slang word! No really, Webster that sh*t. Definitions of this word include, but are not limited to the following:
-to have sexual intercourse (verb)
-the actual act of sexual intercourse (noun)
-to treat unfairly (verb)
-used to express anger, disgust, etc. and is normally followed by a pronoun, such as YOU! (interjection)
Okay, now that we've got the basic definitions and usages out of the way, another topic needs to be discussed. Why and how did the word become widely known as a curse word? I'll be honest, I don't know the history of the word, but I'd be interested to research it. Another question – WHO the hell decided that it was going to be a forbidden utterance? I want to be the one who decides this type of thing! Because, quite frankly, that's a lot of power. Sooooooo…..Amy & I decided we're switching it up. We're no longer going to use the F word, at all. We're going to adopt its literal definition (i.e. "sex") and going to substitute it for "f*ck." Think about it. Learn it, live it, love it. And if you want to do your part in revolutionizing the English language, spread it.
So that's it from here. Quit sexin' around on the internet and sexin' get back to work!
