F^*# That!

Posted by Jenna Bayley-Burke, 03/22/08 04:00 PM

Conversations have become so predictable. It seems whenever we are at a loss for words, there are a choice few phrases we fall back on. You know, the ones you cringe when you hear kids repeat. Really, we can do better.

We have done better. Before cable TV broadcast the f-word as a superlative we had lots of ways to express our excitement, exasperation, disgust. I find myself drawn to people who still manage to pull it off. My natural inclination is just to litter a few choice words into conversation to get my point across. But these words have become so blasé they’ve lost their effect on everyone but a first grader still trying to decipher exactly what the words are that get you sent to the principal.

My heroine in Her Cinderella Complex is one of those people who uses fun phrases to get her point across.

Glory be to Christmas trees.
Bless it.
Good granny.
Jolly holly sticks.

It was fun to write, and hopefully made that one time when she did pull out the f-word actually mean something.

What do you think about swearing? Do you cuss like a construction worker, or speak like a sweet church lady? Or are you in between, like the church ladies on Bingo night?

Category: , | 03/22/08 04:00 PM

Comments: [7]

  1. 1 Diana Castilleja

    Bwahahahaaa!

    I use different terms personally. Sassafrass, fudge sticks, Friccaise popped up earlier today. Not sure where it came from. :) If I’m alone though… It could get pretty colorful . :D

    As for the characters, that really depends. Sometimes guys are more apt to use them, but it really has to be part of them.

    Comment by Diana Castilleja · Mar 22, 04:35 PM
  2. 2 Jenna Bayley-Burke

    Fudge Sticks! I like that one.

    Fruit Loop and Sugar were on the list, but didn’t make it into the book.

    Crimeny is my personal vice. I find I say Cheese way too much. What’s his cheese? He’s cheesed out.

    I am a HUGE fan of the Orbit gum commercial with the people fighting without cussing.

    “What the French, Toast!”
    “Cootie Queen”
    :Lint Licker”

    Comment by Jenna Bayley-Burke · Mar 22, 04:42 PM
  3. 3 Kaz Augustin

    I cuss so well (and so often) that I’ve embarrassed grown men. One reason is that I used to train a lot around young men. But the other is that I learnt that men often use swear words as a form of assault against women, especially in a situation that’s about to get violent (physical assault or rape).

    My instructor always taught me that a good way around this is to build up an “immunity” to swearing, so I won’t be momentarily stunned if someone tries this on me. As a result, I’ve never understood the “oh a REAL lady never does this” type of comment.

    Comment by Kaz Augustin · Mar 22, 08:39 PM
  4. 4 sami lee

    I used to swear quite regularly – I didn’t realise how much until I had a toddler and had to start watching my p’s and q’s. Now I say things like ‘far out bussels sprout!’ ‘Holy Moly’ and ‘Gee Wizz’. That last one was one my grandfather always used – I never understood it but it comes in handy now.

    Comment by sami lee · Mar 22, 08:40 PM
  5. 5 Kathy

    I’m middle of the road I guess. I curse when I’m either really ticked off or I’ve banged into something or dopped something on me. The rest of the time, I really don’t curse. But, I do agree that people curse way too much. I remember going out to get my mail and the bus with the elementary school kids pulled in. A bunch of kids, no older than ten, got off and were cussing up a storm. Every other word was either sh*t or f*ck. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even start cursing until the end of high school. But these were elementary school kids.

    Comment by Kathy · Mar 24, 06:39 AM
  6. 6 Jennifer Shirk

    My mouth is pure and sweet—like my fictional writing. Ha!
    Actually, I stole a good “cuss” from a friend of mine. When she’s upset she blurts out, “Sugarplum fairies!”
    I have to admit, I thought it a little strange at first, then funny, and now I use it myself. LOL!

    Comment by Jennifer Shirk · Mar 24, 09:19 AM
  7. 7 Denise Patrick

    I heard someone once say that people who cuss and swear do so because they don’t have the vocabulary to express themselves. I don’t believe that, but I would prefer to come up with something other than four-letter-words to express myself. On the other hand, if the situation calls for it, I will say it. It’s just that I don’t often think it does.

    I do have to admit that I’m sick of reading it in books, though. People can, and do, have sex without saying it out loud every other word.

    My dh swears quite a bit. And, when the kids were little, I warned him that they’d end up repeating it. He blew me off until our 9-month-old’s first recognizable word was sh*t. He still cusses up “a blue streak” now and then, but not nearly as much. And that 9-month-old is now 22.

    Comment by Denise Patrick · Mar 25, 02:32 PM

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