Cussin'

I've noticed I've developed a strange habit of cussing in science fiction.

I try to avoid swearing insofar as is humanly possible, in that I don't voluntarily use words I consider to be "swearwords" and take pains to replace them with euphemisms when I have to describe them to other people. I've managed to successfully keep "real" swearwords out of my vocabulary in this way by simply refusing to say them and by asking people to limit saying them around me.

That doesn't really work all that well, by the way. I have worked out, over the years, that when you ask someone who swears a lot to swear less around you, they tend to still swear a lot, but then apologise more often. It defeats the purpose, really, because I'm not after more apologies in my life, just less swearing.

I just don't like the words. I don't like what they mean, I don't like what they represent and I don't like the way people use them when they could just as easily use something less offensive. So, I try to keep them out of my own vocabulary - which is hard when you hear them everywhere.

Of course, I cannot say I don't use expletives. I use unnecessary, non-literal and grammatically incorrect (and semantically impractical) words all the time. I just think it's far more amusing to say words like "darn", "gosh", "heck" and "flipping", rather than the words that seem to be circulating more often these days. For the sake of my own amusement, I'll often use a euphemism even to replace words I only consider to be mild cusswords, rather than offensive swearwords. Like "darn it all to Heck!" and the like.

I mean, really, why would you say "arse" when you could say "hoo-ha"?

But I have noticed a tendency to say words like "Frell" and "Gorram it!" on occasions when I'm not paying attention, which I find fascinating. I have no idea why I would start using fake swearwords from science fiction programmes, but there you have it.

I also find these last few days I've been making an effort to avoid use phrases like "Munsell in a canoe!" and "get knotted" from Shades of Grey (as referenced in my last post), which is riddled with euphemisms. The book revels in euphemisms in a way I find highly appealing - all the references to "you know" and "thingy"...

Euphemisms make things amusing. Sci-fi cusswords make things intertextual and slightly obscure. Actual swearing is simply obnoxious and boring. That is, when it isn't straight out-and-out offensive.

And if you think that's a load of dren, well you can go and get knotted for all I care.