Posted on 10/20/2009 9:23:45 AM PDT by GQuagmire
well played, sir!
Not in this house, he can't. And doesn't want to either. ;)
Substituting “frig” for the f-bomb is even lamer than cussin’.
I agree that cussing can be evidence of a lack of polish, breeding and no substitute for real eloquence. Often, cussing is just an inarticulate expression of anger. It shows a lack of creativity and thought.
On the other hand, some people, like Mark Twain’s stevedore, can curse expressively, creatively, with insight and subtlity. They are the poets of profanity, the bards of blasphemy, and the world is richer for having them in it. The Army used to use them as drill instructors. There are occasions and situations were only native America profanity can truly convey the magnitude, import and scope of one’s failure to, say, properly execute a “column to the right FACE”. It was Truman’s genius to recognize that many of the best practitioners of this arcane art are African American men and made their talents available to whole Army. Southern boys, who grew up in the mixed company of presegration South (that is those growing up before 1970, when segration went from being merely de jure to a reality) often mastered the art.
But frig is just a "cleaned up" way to say f---. If its used in a sentence, trying to convey a thought, it will be said as "well that friggin' thing..." which most men would call acceptable. MOST men will see that profanity does not HAVE to be used in conversation.
But when there is an outburst of frustration or exasperation, FRIG! doesn't cut it. You sound like a pansy.
Darn it or Dang it are more acceptable, as these are words that have been accepted over time.
But frig? Using frig sounds like Wally Cox or Woody Allen desperately trying to be viewed as cool or tough, but AFRAID of actually swearing.
Oh....my....gawd....its like, you know...really, really gay to not know if I’m staying in fashion on what real men are allowed to say or not.
You need to post this as its own thread! Bump! ;-)
Thats EXACTLY it.
it is not lying. it is declaring yourself neutral in the ongoing female self esteem war. see, we women want our men to tell us the truth, however when it comes to the way we look we most likely will not believe you. we know our men love us and think we are beautiful even if we are covered in paint or dirt. but, we are in a constant battle against hollywood stereotypes and fashionable nonsense. they want us to think we have to be thin, young, blond, whatever to look “right”.it is insidious and everywhere we look. most of us manage to ignore it most of the time. we like ourselves and are comfortable with our looks until we have a more special occasion. then we worry about how we look to other people. so we ask how do i look? hubby (poor soul) responds “you look great”. so now i know the only man who counts thinks it’s all good. but what about the most vicious critics on the planet? other women. we judge ourselves by what other women would think of our looks and women can be brutal about how other ladies look, even the ones they do not know. so when we ask our men “how do i look?” we are asking the right question but asking the wrong person. we probably do not believe other women think we look great. and men should not be penalized for answering a stupid question. i propose that men should declare neutrality in this battle.
Let me get this straight. “Frig” BAD,
“friggin’” GOOD. Henceforth I will do
my best to only use the word “friggin”.
Great discussion, men.
Again... I learned something new.
FREEPERS ARE FRIGGIN’ AWESOME!!!
Indubitably.
i’ve always told the women i’m with not to ask that question if they don’t want an honost answer.
there are two answers i will give them. first, i think they are beautiful, no matter what.
second, i’ll tell them what other people will see.
which, i suppose, might be a contributing factor to the the first part of my tagline..
I do not approve of “frig” (bad) but “friggin’” is worse. The f-bomb when used by the untrained and inexperienced is worst than profanity, it is exquisitely inarticulate. Swearing is best left to a dab hand, one who can invoke the correct intonation and cadence. Otherwise, it sounds like a scratchy voiced third grader attempting grand opera. It is an art best left to the Carusos of cussin’.
Let me confess, I am not an effective cusser and only do it seldom and then poorly. I am not defending myself, I am defending a sacred guild whose portals I am unworthy of darkening.
Going forward, I’m just going to call this guy an uber-twit.
Bye bye.
Exactly, more than you know:
The key is, indeed, anger. If delivered ONLY in a tone of anger, expressing only maximum anger (esp. when overstatement thereof is inappropriate), then it is base and crude. When delivered with at least a trace of humor or creativity, it can be an eloquent tool. This is akin to the "distressed" look of otherwise fine furniture or fasion: there's a difference between jeans designed to look worn down with an eye toward "cool", vs. just plain worn out jeans which look, well, worn out. Those who cuss creatively (think drill instructor or quality comedians) do so at one level; those who just shout "****!" 'cuz something annoys them exhibit poor breeding, making themselves madder than appropriate and degrading those in their influence.
[... I am defending a sacred guild whose
portals I am unworthy of darkening...]
Profound profanity prose.
The F Word is fantastic in that it can be a verb, an adverb, and noun and pronoun.
This F’ing F’er is F’ing well F’ed.
Brilliantly succint.
I remember in high school we were having a conversation about the word sh*t and its variance meanings and nuances. Clearly one of the most expressive words in the American Language. Just then Sean O’Connor comes and along and inquires what we are talking about. Someone gives him a brief synopsis and deadpan without missing a beat he replies, bullsh*t.
I guess you hadda be there.
GQ and Esquire (and maxim etc.) are magazines for eunachs.
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