Word Play 101: The Offensive But Funny FCUK!

(Sometimes, in order to “tone” the offensive language down, we use the more acceptable word “screwed” instead. Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eplewis)

It is that time of the year when things come to a crawl and one looks back the last 350 plus days and wondered whether one had made any positive change on oneself, friends, environment, colleagues, family and the country. It seems everyone is waiting for the new year to start – perhaps for renewed personal aim, mission, energy, purpose in life, etc

So, here’s one for 2010 before we move on to 2011 – it has not been a great year but at the same, we have managed just fine

When I was in law school, I still remember my first week. We were herded together in a big room and we had this principal of the school coming in for the first time for a lecture. The principal looked serious (we found later that he is the funniest of the whole lot), so we kept silent and looked serious too.

Somewhere in between his lecture which started seriously as well, he mentioned the word “fuck” and immediately someone at the back of the class expressed his shock. it was a shock to all of us indeed which was not a big surprise since we have not heard the “fuck” mentioned so open in public, more so in a school so casually.

(Words alone are not offensive or vulgar or dirty except it is uttered with an offensive, vulgar and dirty mind. Image source: Yoddler)

The lecturer immediately stopped his lectures and looked at us rather questionably. He looked angry but actually, he was not.

He smiled and then he started to laugh. He shook his head and asked why we were so disturbed with the very mention of “fuck”. As law students, it was one of the earliest hard lessons we learn quickly on questioning and unlearning what we have learned to date and taking the courage to go against what has been established as “standards”.

He said that in downtown Harlem where he had visited once, the word is so common that it exists in almost all sentences. He then went to act as an African American from Harlem and start to speak with the “word” in almost all sentences. (adding other so-called “forbidden” words in between).

We lost count of the specific words he uttered in his example and that broke the ice and brought us into a new state of mind. But then again, what is the history behind the said word?

While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to around 1475. In modern usage, the term fuck and its derivatives (such as fucker and fucking) can be used as a noun, a verb, an adjective, an interjection or an adverb.

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the ultimate etymology is uncertain, but that the word is “probably cognate” with a number of Germanic words with meanings involving striking, rubbing and having sex or is derivative of the Old French word that meant “to have sex”.

(Source)

Now enjoy this very funny and yet very logical revelation on the “word” by one Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh (11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990) (WARNING: due to the nature of the “word”, it is not considered as “safe for work”. Please do keep the volume down)

Think about it – the various meanings and you will realise what Rajneesh is saying is correct. That it is very versatile and nicely fits any and every situation.