Candid, not Candied

Wednesday 18 November 2009

What's the 'F' word now?

*** Disclaimer : If you are below 18 years of age and reading this, you better go elsewhere, because, technically, you shouldn't be reading this post.

And after reading the above disclaimer, if you, yes you, below 18- minor dude/ dudette, is still reading this, let me tell you, I haven't written anything here that'll tickle your hormones... nor are there any pics that'll magnet your eyes to this screen. Basically, there's nothing here, just an aunty-ish drag post about the 'F' word. AND, if you have read till here, and do not yet know what the 'f' word is (which i'm not ready to believe, gotcha!), don't ask your parents what the 'F' word is... you'll get a beating. I'm done lecturing you here!

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I'm sure the rest of you know the 'F' word inside out. Wait a minute, I'm sure everyone knows the 'F' word inside out. Naturally, I'm included in too. However, I have never liked the word. Never even used it - not in public and not even in my own privacy. Never ever. Then why do I write about the word?

I never use it doesn't mean others don't. I know people who use the word instead of a full stop to their sentences. I know people who, when they burn up chant the word like it were a cooling mantra. I know people who say the word and quickly glance around to see if anyone has caught them mouthing the infamous 'F'. People use it with varying degrees of frequency. Each one tailor makes the usage of the word according to their convenience.

I remember staring at one of my classmate at AFP when she uttered the word out LOUD, when she remembered that she'd not done the homework. I must have stared at her till it hurt her soul, because she returned my stare with you-have-a-problem-with-that-girl-? stare back at me. I wasn't shocked, or for that matter devastated to hear it. Just amused.

Today, the word has fallen on my ears so many times, that it no longer makes me raise my eyebrows. nor do i feel uncomfortable when every noun is embellished with that adjective. It could be 'f-ing' rains to 'f-ing' ministers to 'f-ing' nonsense to 'f-ing' female to a 'f-ing' sense of humour. Nowadays the word makes me wanna crack up... which I do when the situation is clowny enough.

Basically used as a swear word, it has definitely lost all its essence. Thanks to the above mentioned. Anyhow, I never thought any swear word was ever justified. But today, I feel that swear words were meant for certain someone(s)... that they exist because people worth them exist. The people that I see around me... with hopeless behaviour, unnecessary arrogance, magnified stupidity, and rudeness beyond comprehension ... I support each and every one who throw the 'f' word at such people. Still I have maintained the sanctity of my language by not using the 'f' word.

Ok, I digressed for a paragraph... but i needed to.

Lately, 'f' resides with everyone as it is the most natural thing in the world. Not that I have a problem with it... it just doesn't register with me. I can't bring myself to use it, under whatever circumstances.... and this is what amazes me. For me its just another word, that has empty meaning and rhymes very much with "yuck". So that totally explains why i never want to use it.

I do not understand this word like I do not understand why people smoke or get drunk. For me the 'f' word is a simple confusion that I'm gonna stand and stare.

Oh, and btw, the under 18 junta, if you are still hanging in here; nothing great right?

ETA :: Also, I find it pretty funny when they beep the word on TV. Its not like people do not know about it. The word flies off so often that I bet children know it too... why bother beeping it then?

22 comments:

  1. wow! I so very much want to send this link to a friend with whom I spend the evening. She used the F-word at least 20 times.

    Sometimes just to irritate me (because I smile/laugh hearing that... it's amusing to see people doing this)

    I cannot say I have never used this word.. but may be 10 times in the past 10 years.. When it real deep messed up situation.

    Sands.

    PS: I won't anyway send the link because I don't want a F-word filled reply! :P

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  2. Welcome to the no F club and let's forgive them b'coz they don't know better words to swear, cool off or make a point. Better vocabulary books may be mailed to anyone who needs it at VPP Rs. 100/-. Write to Dumb Publications, Zombie Towers, Moron Road, Fool Nagar, Nincompoop P.O

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  3. Do you really need to be 18 to use the word???... Anyway, this post reminds me of my first encounter with this word.. It was in a school van when a 7th std boy used it on me (me 5th std then) for pushing him when he was hogging most of the 2-seater!! For me being what I am, I asked him for the spelling, got home and looked up at the dictionary... but then I didn't understand the word intercourse as well. Finally I understood the word as "socialising between two individuals". Senior socailised for pushing him???.. Wow, I was in the right school!!!! :)
    It took me couple more years to know the exact meaning.. Thanks to star tv;)

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  4. hmmmm! :)

    good to see you write..finally!

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  5. I dont raise my eyebrows at this word ever, as its just used by everyubody around me, at times me too!! But what makes me uncomy even now is using this word in public!!

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  6. I do not use this word, ever. But I know my daughter's friends use it. May be she uses it too, I do not know. But it makes me shudder just thinking about it.
    It has become a catchphrase now, and has lost all its importance. But still, it sucks.

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  7. there was a time when i used to be amused when ppl used it. now, i'm plain indifferent. hearing it too many times from too many ppl does that, i guess. and being in media/advtg you get to hear it at least 100 times a day from varied ppl.

    a friend of mine who uses it abundantly explained that "it's more like an outlet. like saying shit! or damn! it lets out steam without hurting anyone" except our ears, i guess.

    to me, it displays an absence of vocab. i know plenty of words i can substitute for the f-one. i use it. but quite rarely. :)

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  8. Different times, different swear words, girl! I wont justify it, I use it blatantly. All the time. So much so, I have to censor myself at times. I don't think there's anything to it at all. Just a word. Words are feeble, words impend emotions, dont think of it too much, just cruise along! :)

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  9. @ Sands,
    hahahaha.. its really ok if u send this link to your friend. Its not that I have reprimanded people who use the F word.
    and yeah, your comment reminded me of another aquaintance who can repeat the word so many times that it sounds disgusting.

    @ The Holy Lama,
    Forgiven n forgotten! :) but know what, sometimes it sounds cute when it comes in all innocence... :P n m sure this address exists!

    @ Rajat,
    I told you... its only technically people above above 18. I'm sure there'll be kids laughing at me for being such an old aunt!
    Ok, I'm not gonna tell when i'd had my first brush with this word (it was pretty comic)... However, even I ran to the nearest dictionary and got the half baked answer to it. :)

    @ Jinu,
    :) got the point!

    @ Sujata,
    Believe me, the word is omnipresent! at times it keeps ringing in my ears for long!

    @ Aparna,
    :) i understand ur concerns for ur daughter. but nowadays you can hardly sheild children fm such things.

    @ rayshma,
    same here. Now m indifferent to it most of the times. I make do with 'shit' n 'damn' and very very lately 'bitch' ... :P

    @ Expressionist,
    i know how blatantly u use them. and u must have seen how i burst into giggles whenever I hear u say it, even in the most serious situations.

    I rarely use any swear words, which I've already mentioned. The highest I've got to is 'BITCH'... AND this is for the one who truly deserves being called one. At times, swear words rock! \m/ :P

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  10. well, i had resorted to using the F word in my head quite a lot, recently.... until i got hold of myself and said "if u think it, u'll start saying it"... and that was the end of that!!

    pretty short story we had :P

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  11. you're f-ing right :P there no f-ing reason why it should be ever f-ing used..f-ing american culture trying to f-ing destroy our Indian culture!! :D

    @rach : really?? :P

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  12. My first encounter with this word was in the 10th... I didn't know what it meant, but definitely knew it was a swear word... We were on a school trip and my group was in the bus... One of the more notorious guys in class chased another guy screaming the 'F' word... We girls stared at each other and said... Did he just say what I thought he said?

    Fact of the matter though is that now I have heard or read that word being used in all different parts of speech (I forgot the exact gramatically correct word for this).. as a noun, adjective, verb... watever...

    Though I still don't use it, I don't understand either the hullabaloo around it nor why I still feel uncomfortable when people use the word

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  13. Well, its amazing that u write abt such "F" topics..;) I hope u shoulld have done great observation beforte writing this post.

    In fact, it will always come to the minds of some people whenever they use "F" word.

    Keep updating ur knowledge..:)

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  14. f-ing nuisance this word has bcme.. really... blv me wen i say i too swear so many times... but i do hav respect for the ppl arnd me and try to control my emotions whrever possible... but aaj kal k bacche... chayla har 2 words k piche swear wrds... aur ladkiyan bhi piche nahi... i simply try and ignore such ppl.. (even if i'm standing in the same grp as they are...)

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  15. @ Rach,
    That true u know. U start using it in ur head a few times and then u never know when it travelled onto your tongue. Besht kiya control karke. :P

    @ mithunda,
    well?! what can i say to ur comment?

    @ Tj,
    My first encounter was also during the same time. :D will tell ya l8r abt it. last para... SP

    @ DaytAnk,
    arre, observe kay. Ha shabd itkya vela aikava lagta ki konihi observe karel. Knowledge mazha update hot rahil... kaLji karu nakkos! :P

    @ Amit,
    arre, swearing is like a part of ur verbal lingo nowadays ya. aduls minors, girls, guys, everyone uses it pretty fluently. I do too. But my degree is low.

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  16. No sooner did I read the blog, than I catch in confusion to know what does ‘F’ mean? Then again I went though the article twice, thrice till I understood the abbreviation of the noun of four alphabets. Really, it makes me to wonder why people use it. I remember the incident which took place in my college.

    It was my first day in Fergusson College. I was standing by Physics classroom door to meet my friend. A girl came to the classroom to attend lecture which had already been started n wasn’t allowed to attend it b’coz she had got late. She annoyed and broke the sacredness of college by using ‘F’ word. Since then, ‘F’ word knocks over my ears, n I see people enjoy IT by way of releasing their anger, depression, annoyance, irritation, etc.

    I wonder to learn that how the ‘F’ word is so common in the city. I come from the background where ‘F’ word is supposed to have negative connotations. I don’t believe in these kinds of words n I never used ‘F’ word and neither any word which has similar implied meaning and, I don’t like to use it for anything. I’d like to suggest that try to learn n implement whatever good is in the language. I observed, people, not everyone, who are proficient in the language tend to use ‘F’ word as if they are proud of it.

    Since I’m Fergussonian, n everyone who has studied in Fergusson College, know the full form of FERGUSSON for sure. To explain it in broad term, the very initial alphabet stands for ‘F’ meaning and the rest of alphabets have syntactic relationship with ‘F’ to form an extremely dislike sentence. Hmmm, I donno want to be philosopher here.

    Thanx PP to reform the ‘F’ circle, I mean to say Friend Circle :p :)

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  17. FYI.. jst an update... watched 2012 last nite... "F" word used once in the movie... john cusack shouts it out in front of his kids and wife... mvie theatre was full of kids, adults, grandma's, grandpas's and ppl of all ages....

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  18. Amit,
    thats what me saying. It no longer is "Above 18 Only" thing.

    @ Firoz,
    Thnx for that LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG comment. and how can anyone not know the full form of FERGUSSON when its written in every possible place in college? It dint take much time for it to travel from FC to BM.

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  19. "F" Word...??? Now i wonder wat dat iz...??? :P

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  20. @ Yogesh,
    Ummm... U cud go n ask a 14 yr old kid. he'll explain u better.

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  21. The F* word is used thousands of time in the movie Pulp Fiction. Watching that movie sometimes makes irritating as in a normal sentence the characters use it like we use 'Oh God!' every time. A character Vincent Vega even uses 'F* Jesus Christ'.
    It is normal to use in their culture but we Indian use it fashionably.

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  22. Hi Genius Vivek,
    welcome here! :) yea...as u sed, here they say it like its a brave attempt... more like "Look, I say F*** ...Loud n Clear"

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Go on, say it! I will not sue you... pinky promise!

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