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It's me again, this time with thoughts about our language and the eff word:
It's now used as every part of speech, so has the eff word been tamed?
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As a kid, I seldom heard the eff word, and when I did, it suggested hatred and violence.
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Today it can be heard as every part of speech, at least in movies.
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Perhaps eff-users think the word makes them sound brave, determined, and dangerous. Like, "Don't mess with me." After all, it was once, and maybe still is, a bad word.
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Perhaps young people think their casual use of the word makes them appear cool, contemporary, and at ease with the world.
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Years ago, after watching a few episodes of the comedy series “Veep,”(Julia Lewis-Dreyfus starred) I decided the characters’ constant use of the eff word meant that soon the word would fall out of favor. “Veep” would give it the killing blow. I concluded this because the characters were so flawed, and for them, everything–everything–was eff’d. Apparently I was wrong.
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Truth: A lot of common slang had a disreputable beginning and is now used with no awareness of the original meaning.
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As an example, when I was small my teenage sisters corrected me by saying, “You little bugger!” I didn’t know the derivation of that word until recently, and I’m sure my sisters didn’t. Today it may be used describe a silly or annoying person or a beloved person or animal, as in “a cute little bugger.” (Originally it referred to anal sex.)
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So has eff been tamed? To many it still seems unnecessarily rude and disgusting, and I don't use it. But people who grow up hearing it may not have the same reaction, and someday (if not already) it may be used in a playful, loving way, as in “you cute little effer.”
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As a former English teacher, I'm amazed that the eff (or F*) word is now commonly used as almost any part of speech.
1. Noun
That guy doesn’t give a F*.
I don’t need this kind of F* in my life.
2. Verb (transitive or intransitive)
They really F**d up the project.
He told me to F* off.
3. Adjective
This is a F*-ing disaster.
What a F*-ing cold day.
4. Adverb
That’s F*-ing amazing.
She runs F*-ing fast.
5. Interjection
F*! I dropped my phone.
Oh, F*—the car won’t start.
6. Conjunction (slangy/colloquial use)
Either help me, F* I’ll do it myself. (informal, like "or else")
7. Part of idioms / compounds
I don’t give a flying F*.
Clusterf**
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What do you think? If you have reactions to this article or insights about our language, I'd love to hear them. Email me: carol@carolervin.com
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