Every once in awhile you run across a word or phrase that seems to just work for every occasion. I’m partial to the F-word myself. I say it probably more than anyone I know. It’s not that I say it to shock people or because it’s taboo or anything like that. I just do. It works for me. I’m comfortable with it. It flows off my tongue naturally.
It’s a very versatile word whose variations can be used properly as a Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Pronoun, Preposition, Conjunction, Determiner, and an Exclamation in almost every situation imaginable.
As a child most of us were scolded for using such words, but their usage has grown increasingly in popularity of late. What once was considered vulgar or crude is now more socially acceptable, and that’s just fine with me, since I’ve cussed like a Sailor my whole life anyway.
With the adaptation of specialized Cable TV shows it seems that writers and actors are trying them on for size, when appropriate. In the 90’s everyone made this huge stink about NYPD Blue saying the word shit. Then they started using it more and pushing the limits until nobody really cared anymore. And they really shouldn’t care; because on a show like that, a really gritty cop show, it worked exceptionally. It was expected and appropriate for the situation and added to the ambiance.
Unfortunately in other cases it just doesn’t work. A prime example is another TV Crime Drama show called Dexter, which I actually reviewed a while back in a story called Top 5 Crime TV Shows on Netflix. In Dexter, the Deborah Morgan character says the F word about as much as I normally do, but throughout every episode in the show. The problem is the writers haven’t really figured out the right placement of such words in a normal flowing sentence. They seem to be trying too hard to make sure they squeeze it in and it ends up not sounding natural at all. It actually brings down the quality of what is otherwise a very good and entertaining show.
There are other fine examples of cuss words being used excessively, but still totally appropriate and remarkably fitting of the content. The best example I can think of is the TV show called Deadwood.
Deadwood is a fictional Old West Drama about the dirty town of Deadwood North Dakota, before it was part of the United States. It’s loosely based on history and has some Famous inhabitants like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Charlie Utter, Wyatt Earp, and many others.
Anyway Deadwood almost prides itself on its ability to have highly intellectual shakespearean conversations amongst hardened outlaws in the Old West while predominantly using cuss words. It is truly a Masterpiece of Foulmouthed Colloquy.
Without further ado I present to you every instance of Deadwood’s favorite word in three seasons. Yes it really lasts 7 minutes and 55 seconds…no it doesn’t repeat!
Question of the night: What’s your favorite cuss words?
(Side Note. It’s ok to answer as our Disqus profanity filters are only set to cover racially/sexually disparaging words)
