The F-Word: Variations and Query ...
Humans may be at their most creative when producing variations of
profanities such as fuck. This note to the ADS-L list on
25 August 1998 from Jesse T. Sheidlower of Random House Publishers, editor
of The F Word (New York, Random House, 1995, 231 pages with
foreword by Roy Blount, Jr., based on the Random House Historical
Dictionary of American Slang) illustrates problems faced by
lexicographers and translators alike:
Dear colleagues,
As some of you may know, in 1995 I published The F-Word, a
historical glossary of words and phrases containing or euphemizing "fuck."
I am now working on a revision of The F-Word. I welcome
any suggestions for improvements, especially with regard to terms that
belong in the book but are not currently there. The main methodological
change will be the inclusion of non-American terms, but I am also trying
to expand the evidence for sparsely-attested terms that are currently in
the book, and of course add American terms that were missed, omitted for
lack of evidence, or are new.
Below is a list of specific questions on items I think are in need of
evidence. However, if you come up with anything of potential value, please
feel free to suggest it. The general desire is more interesting or more
famous examples of terms that are already in; earlier examples of existing
terms; additional evidence for seemingly rare terms; terms that are not in
at all; and historical information (such as the earliest printed use of
the F-word, the history of the "For Unlawful Carnal Knowlege" story,
etc.).
In all cases, published evidence is greatly preferred. I will give an
acknowledgement or not, as you prefer.
I have already done Nexis searches on these items. Please respond
directly to me at jester@panix.com,
so as to not to waste ADS-L bandwidth. Thank you for your help.
F-Word Revision Want List
- Any idea what the first use of the F-word in a mainstream movie is?
The earliest I know of is MASH (1970); I've found some late-1960s examples
from non-mainstream pictures but would like to know more.
- Acronymic etymology for the F-word: any pre-1967 example?
- bufu: any non-glossary evidence; anything pre-1982
- f.a. or "fannie adams": American evidence?
- fist-fuck/er/ing: any written evidence referring to vaginal, rather
than anal, fisting; any pre-1972 in any sense
- fork: euphem. for fuck in "fork you!": any evidence (we have one cite
from Wentworth & Flexner)?
- fox: euphem. for fuck: any evidence, even glossarial (we have one
cite from Raymond Chandler)
- frap: euphem. for fuck: any evidence (several recent cites from a
Wash. Post article on rap slang)
- French fuck: any evidence
- fubar: any evidence in sense 'intoxicated by alcohol or drugs', esp.
if pre-1985
- fuckbag: any evidence
- fuckball: any evidence not referring to Elmore Leonard's _Get Shorty_
- fuckbrain: any recent (1990s) evidence
- fuck-buddy: any evidence pre-1983; any evidence in non-homosexual
contexts
- fuckfest: pre-1976 evidence; any 1976 to 1996 interdating
- fuckhole: any non-glossarial evidence
- fucking-A: does anyone have evidence actually from WWII? Ours is all
post that, referring to the war.
- fuckingly 'damned; extremely': any evidence
- fuckish 'sexually excited': any evidence
- fuck job 'instance of victimization': any evidence
- fuckload: any evidence
- fuck-me 'intended to invite sexual advances', as "fuck-me shoes" or
"fuck me eyes": any pre-1989 evidence
- fuck-muscle 'penis': any evidence
- fucknob (or fuck-knob): any evidence
- fuck-nutty 'obsessed with copulation': any evidence
- fuck-pig: (Partridge alleges 19th Century use) is there any basis
for this? We only have very recent examples.
- fuck-plug 'contraceptive diaphragm': any evidence or statement of
familiarity
- fuckrag: any evidence outside of movie "Scream"
- fuck rubber 'condom': any evidence
- fuckster, fuckstress: any American evidence
- fuckstruck 'obsessed with copulation': any evidence (cf. cuntstruck)
- fuck toy: any evidence; main sense is 'artificial sexual aid'
- fucktruck: any written American evidence for 'a van or car in which
people engage in sexual activity'; any evidence for 'sexually attractive
person', for which I have one cite
- fuckwit, fuckwitted: any American evidence
- fuck-you: any written evidence as an adjective in the sense
'contemptuous; dismissive' (e.g. "sent a fuck-you letter to his ex-wife"),
or as a noun in the sense 'a statement of contempt or dismissal'
- fuck-you money: any pre-1986 evidence
- fugly 'extremely ugly': pre-1984 evidence
- fuss: any evidence as euphem. for fuck (we have one fr. Chandler)
- FYFI 'for your fucking information': any evidence
- genderfuck: any pre-1986 evidence
- hand fuck: any evidence in any sense
- Hawaiian muscle fuck: any knowledge or evidence of this term?
- headfucker 'potent narcotic drug': any non-glossarial evidence
- horsefuck 'copulate with from behind': any evidence
- horsefucking 'huge': any evidence
- jugfuck: any evidence, any sense
- jumblefuck: any evidence
- mouthfuck: any additional evidence, particularly as a noun 'an act of
fellatio'
- pity-fuck: any evidence
- (Philadelphia) rat-fuck: 'a chaotic party marked by flagrant social
climbing': is this a real sense? several recent cites have mentioned this
term as being onepopularized by Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee: does anyone
have earlier examples? What is the explanation for "Philadelphia"?
- tit fuck: any pre-1984 evidence
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Last Updated 07 May 2010
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