Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say On TV

[Dan Schultz]

Remember this schtick? I think it was George Carlin.

It never ceases to amaze me at how society manages to figure out a way to talk 'dirty' without actually using the 'real' words. I remember when I was a kid (over a half-century ago!)... that I would get in trouble with the 'old folks' for using fake cuss words like 'shucks', 'darn', and 'dang-nabbit', 'gol-darnet', & 'shoot' because they were just 'substitute' words for the nasty ones.

Now... the kids use the word 'freakin' like it's nothing. Seems to me that if they are in a situation where they don't want to say the the real thing, why bother? It really irritates me to hear the work 'freakin' used like it should be commonly acceptable in normal conversation.

Is this a sign I'm gettin' old?

[Lew]

Remember this schtick? I think it was George Carlin.

...

Is this a sign I'm gettin' old?

Yes.

[TubaRay]

Remember this schtick? I think it was George Carlin.

...

Is this a sign I'm gettin' old?

Yes.

I guess I have to say, "Me, too!"

[Kevin Hendrick]

Remember this schtick? I think it was George Carlin.

...

Is this a sign I'm gettin' old?

Yes.

I guess I have to say, "Me, too!"

Same here ...

[windshieldbug]

Yes.

I guess I have to say, "Me, too!"

Same here ...

Are you freakin' kidding??

[Joe Baker]

Based on my recent viewing, the original group has been supplanted by these:

• honor
  decency
  integrity
  courage
  generosity
  faith

and MOST OF ALL (except when used as an exclamation or part of a curse)

• G-d

__________________________________
Joe Baker, who seeks to not only use but exemplify the first six of these.

[MartyNeilan]

Isn't it amazing how many "church people" (especially Southern folk) use the word blessed for everything except its intended connotation?

Ex:
Start the blessed car!
Give me the blessed thing!
Just play the blessed tuba!!!!!

etc etc

[SplatterTone]

I've found that using Finale usually brings out some choice words ... as does reparing things. "If it jams, force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway."

[TubaRay]

Isn't it amazing how many "church people" (especially Southern folk) use the word blessed for everything except its intended connotation?

Ex:
Start the blessed car!
Give me the blessed thing!
Just play the blessed tuba!!!!!

etc etc

Of course, the correct usage is:

Start the freakin' car!
Give me the freakin'thing!
Just play the freakin' tuba!!!!!

[tubeast]

Maybe the big deal that is made about usage of certain terms contributes to the situation.
When I was in first grade (yes, primary school, 1978), we had a thing about using the word "geil" (German adjective describing a state of being sexually aroused / wanton with a certain implication that these desires don´t have a chance to be fulfilled at that time) all over the place.
Man, one thing was for sure: we definitely DID attract the attention of both peers and grown-ups for a while.

Soon the meaning of the word began to shift / expand greatly, and nowadays the word is still used in its original context, but in colloquial (that is, spoken in everyday situations) German of people my age and younger it is used to describe something cool, desirable, or outstanding.
That includes the discussion of a musician´s performance in a concert hall´s parlor. (Again, at my age and younger).

It´s like a knife: if used too often or inappropriately, a weapon will lose its effect.
My point is: make efficient use of words in the context they fit best. That includes swearing and naughty expressions. Pay attention to what you actually want to say, and keep your language colorful and alive. Everything else will lead to a language as described in "1984" by Orwell.

[Rick Denney]

My point is: make efficient use of words in the context they fit best. That includes swearing and naughty expressions.

I would rather not use them at all. But being still human, and having grown up in the public schools (I certainly DID NOT hear these words at home), I built them into my vocabulary and they still leak out from time to time, especially when working on computer networks and motorhomes.

Hanging around certain musicians didn't help, either.

But I'm working on it.

Rick "who thinks it easiest to avoid crossing the line when it's way over there rather than right under my feet" Denney

[ThomasDodd]

Carlin's point was that "words" were banned, not the concepts they represented.

Substitute words still have the same meaning, at least implied, even if the word picked is different. If you hit you thumb with a hammer, what ever you yell, the same meanng is there. The point should be to not think that way, instead of worring about the word used.

So if you say f**k, fudge, freak, frack, or daisy. It really doesn't matter. he meaning, or emotion, conveyed is the problem.

Then again, human nature is to express trhings, and we tend to have "bad" things to express.

[MartyNeilan]

So if you say f**k, fudge, freak, frack, or daisy. It really doesn't matter. he meaning, or emotion, conveyed is the problem.

So, by that logic, we now have:

Son of a Tuba!
and
Mother Eupher!

[windshieldbug]

Son of a Tuba!
and
Mother Eupher!

Those are fightin' words! Put up your slides!!

[Kevin Hendrick]

Son of a Tuba!
and
Mother Eupher!

Those are fightin' words! Put up your slides!!

Gentlemen, please -- compose yourselves! (see recursion) Sounds like we need to get back to some good old family valves here ...

(tuba continued ... preferably sans euphermisms )