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Hey all! I'm new to the forum so forgive me if this topic has been covered before.
I remember a few podcasts back that there was a discussion about the "F-word" and of course everyone fluent in English is aware of the word being referenced. I started to think about other words that were referenced in this way and almost instantly came up with the "N-word".
After about 2 months, the only other example I can think of is the "L-word" which I believe was a television show some time ago. I never watched the show although I remember it fluttering near my consciousness when I channel surfed. I always assumed it either referred to lesbian or liberal but never bothered to watch the show or unearth the meaning.
Anyway, this all got me wondering about words that are deemed so offensive or hostile that we reference them only by the first letter. Any other examples in English? And I would especially like to hear about examples in other languages.
I suppose in any given context, there will be "unspoken" words like this. In my stodgy old Presbyterian church, our pastor has taken to speaking of "the E-word," because none of the members want to hear him talk about evangelism.
Offhand, though, I can't think of any others that are widely understood, other than the ones you cite.
Glenn said:
A family letter-word is “V-wordâ€, or just “Vâ€, because of my wife's sensitivity to the word “vomitâ€.
Does she have a problem with “vomitorium?†(It actually isn't what it sounds like.)
I've never seen any of it, ternce, but I do believe that The L Word is a show about lesbians.
Come to think of it, I do remember the "M-word" as a common shorthand back in the day...but it's been a long time since I've heard it or used it!
I can think of a few times in my life where I became aware of a community (like a congregation) or a family that had devised a euphemism in this fashion. I thought it was interesting that, at least in English, only one of a variety of cuss words had been bestowed with such an honor and only one racial slur that had such impact that they become almost universally acknowledged.
Another reason that the subject became topical for me is that my wife is Thai and I had quite an interesting conversation trying to get the whole history of the "N-word"across to her and explain why should could not use it in the USA in normal conversation (after we heard the Kanye West-Jaimie Fox song). She was aware of the "F-word" denotation but had never heard either the "N-word" or its actual reference word.
Related to the “M-word,†I've seen “C-word†and “L-word†for commitment and love phobes. I've also seen “C-word†for a certain part of the female anatomy, when referring to a woman as a really bad “B-word.†Alas, the “B-word†is becoming so mainstream that many people don't bother to say “B-word.†The “A-word†has been used for abortion. Interestingly, the “F-word†has sometimes been used for feminism.
It would be great if all those fluent in other languages would say something about letter substitutions in their “M-tongueâ€: mother tongue.
Is that common to all cultures: insulting a person's mother is as low as it goes? Is that worse than insulting a person's God? Well, Russia is supposed to be a godless state, but insulting the Russian state may be more dangerous than insulting gods or mothers. In the US, was the C-word at any time communism?
I'm a schoolteacher, and believe me, the "letter-word" tradition is alive and well. I hear it constantly: "She said the d-word!" "I heard the s-word on television last night." "Is it bad to say the h-word if you are talking about the actual place?"
The difficulty comes when we have to figure out what word they are referencing, since they will refuse to tell you the actual word. The first-grade teacher received a report that a student had used "the f-word." After a lengthy investigation, she discovered that the child had said "fart."
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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