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In the New Yorker...

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Front-Ranger:
I say effing. Would that fly?

serious crayons:

--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on September 25, 2023, 11:19:39 am ---I say effing. Would that fly?

--- End quote ---

In a newspaper, I don't think so. That's an even more direct reference to the taboo word than "flipping." When I wrote that story, I also ruled out "fricking." But "flipping" is an actual word that could have developed to mean "extremely, in a bad way," independent of its quasi-homonym.


Jeff Wrangler:
Sometimes in articles that quote dialog from Irish plays, for example, speakers say "fecking." I've wondered if that's dialect, or if it's a word Irish people actually use instead of the word it obviously replaces.

serious crayons:

--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on September 25, 2023, 03:39:41 pm ---Sometimes in articles that quote dialog from Irish plays, for example, speakers say "fecking." I've wondered if that's dialect, or if it's a word Irish people actually use instead of the word it obviously replaces.
--- End quote ---

Good question. I've always assumed it was dialect, because it's even more explicit than fricking.

I had a British editor for a couple of years who'd indicate large quantities by saying "a shed load." I wondered if that's what he meant to say, perhaps an actual expression in England, or if he'd just misheard the American term.

Jeff Wrangler:
So, Bettermost moms, did you read the article about Mom rage (Sept. 25)? What did you think of it?

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