There are times that, I must admit, I use expletives. Sometimes I think it’s because I watched too many Eddie Murphy comedy routines growing up. At other times I think it’s because I would have had my mouth washed out with soap if I said bad words in front of my parents. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I said them. Apparently when I was three, my parents found it delightful that I was singing on the potty and everyone laughed at me because they could hear me and I said something cute like “I don’t see what’s so damn funny.” Then, an elderly couple asked me if I liked swimming lessons when I was out with my grandma and I said “I swam all over the damn pool.” I can imagine the shocked faces, but I find it hilarious now.
Anyway, I only use these words in the company of my peers now, meaning close friends, and usually it means I am really agitated at what is going on. This one particular word, when used with much gusto and verve, seems to pacify me for a while. I imagine it provides the adjectives, nouns, verbs, and pretty much any part of speech I could be trying to use much flavor. Perhaps if early grammarians knew that this one word encompassed all 8 parts of speech, well, I just know Aristotle would have used it to perfection.
Since I need to blow off steam about ridiculous situations at work, and there are many, I call my husband or a friend on the way home and describe what has happened using this word. Once, I accidentally used it in a sentence with my mom. It did not go over too well. Hmm. I bet Eddie Murphy’s mom felt the same way after watching Raw. Fine. I will use a new word next time like “what the fornicate was that?” Sigh. It just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Hopefully you have better ways of dealing with “stuff”, but if you need to use some adult words in a sentence, go right ahead. Just make sure you are with people who have given you the okay.
“There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That’s what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad.”
~Garson Kanin