Swearing in Star Trek - Steve Shives

[hbquikcomjamesl]

"rooster", "donkey", and "house cat"

George Carlin, in one version of his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine, had a bit about two-way words. As in "Cock is in The Bible" and "We're gonna snatch that pussy and put him in a box."

Steve Martin had a line about meeting a women with "the best pussy . . . . Hey, I'm talking about her cat! . . . . That cat was the best fuck I ever had."

I have a picture of a donkey in my office. With the caption, "Hemorrhoids are a pain in the . . ."

Speaking of which:

There was a young maid from Madras
Who had a magnificent ass;
Not rounded and pink,
As you probably think—
It was grey, had long ears, and ate grass.

 

[Weyoun 251]

Okay folks, swearing is one thing. Vulgar slurs are quite another.

I understand the context of the discussion, but nonetheless it is inappropriate here.

Please get back to the fucking swear words.

Thanks

Apologies - obviously no one here was using them as such but fair point that even in context they could be offensive to some and should be avoided.

Now ya feckers - who has the sheer fucking hubris to discuss these klingon bastards.

Bollocks

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

We're not Mel Brooks.

 

[Maurice]

Certain words that used to mean "rooster", "donkey", and "house cat" are now considered swearwords as well. As language evolves, formerly offensive words can become innocuous... but they can go the other way.

There's often a difference between an impolite euphemism and a swear/curse word. Terms for body parts are usually the former and not the latter. You don't yell "cock!" when you're angry or as an intensifier like, "You're cocking right!"

 

[Weyoun 251]

There's often a difference between an impolite euphemism and a swear/curse word. Terms for body parts are usually the former and not the latter. You don't yell "cock!" when you're angry or as an intensifier like, "You're cocking right!"

So over my way you very much would use "cock" in that manner. Like the phrase "cocked up" or as a single word expression of frustration.

In the same we we would say "balls" or "bollocks" if something frustrating happened.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Most books, no matter how bad, have something positive to say (yes even that one, albeit not in its text, but rather in the fact that it demonstrated that it is still possible for a self-published book to make it into the bookstores, at least so long as it's really self-published, and not merely subsidy-published under some known vanity imprint).

Which is to say that I vaguely recall some dialogue in one of the Phoenix books, in which Omne asserted that freedom, in order to be meaningful, had to include the right to go to Hell in a handbasket. I think it was Kirk who replied that the assertion was only true if it's one's own Hell, one's own handbasket, and there weren't any unwilling or ignorant passengers along for the ride. I would regard Kirk(?)'s rejoinder as an axiom, and also as the one redeeming virtue of the two books combined.

 

[Maurice]

So over my way you very much would use "cock" in that manner. Like the phrase "cocked up" or as a single word expression of frustration.

In the same we we would say "balls" or "bollocks" if something frustrating happened.

Yep. I was being a tad provincial. "Oh cock!"—despite this thread title—is not an expletive one hears in the USA.

 

[Maurice]

Steve Martin had a line about meeting a women with "the best pussy . . . . Hey, I'm talking about her cat! . . . . That cat was the best fuck I ever had."

What really makes that funny is what happens between the setup and the punchline:

"'Bout three weeks ago I met a girl, and she was real nice, and she invited me to her apartment. So I went over there, and she had the best pussy I have ever— (off audience reaction). Oh now come on! I’m talkin’ about her cat! Now that makes me sick…right there! You can’t say anything any more that people don’t take it dirty. And i’m sorry, it disgusts me! (beat; quiet) That cat was the best fuck I ever had."
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[The Wormhole]

"Oh cock!"—despite this thread title—is not an expletive one hears in the USA.

It should be. Cock really is a versatile swear word that fits many occasions. It should be a common swear in more places around the world than it is.

Not that I'm biased or anything.

 

[Maurice]

In some places "cock" means either kind of "pink parts".

 

[Greg Cox]

There's often a difference between an impolite euphemism and a swear/curse word. Terms for body parts are usually the former and not the latter. You don't yell "cock!" when you're angry or as an intensifier like, "You're cocking right!"

Anya on BUFFY occasionally used "Penis!" as an expletive, but she was still learning to be human so maybe she hadn't quite got the hang of swearing.

 

[Oddish]

Like "I was attempting the hell to communicate."

 

[Weyoun 251]

Yep. I was being a tad provincial. "Oh cock!"—despite this thread title—is not an expletive one hears in the USA.

I stand by it being a Britishism whereby it just sounds right with a RP voice on it. Almost classy in a weird way

 

[Maurice]

Conversely, no one yells, "Shag!" when they hurt themselves.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I thought The Good Place's use of "fork" was rather inspired. Do they owe that to someone who came before?

 

[XCV330]

I like Sponge Bob's "Tartar Sauce!"

 

[Oddish]

I like Sponge Bob's "Tartar Sauce!"

I just had a thought... maybe by the 2100's, ending animal consumption will be the new social cause. We'll all be vegetarian, and words like that actually will be taboo. Tartar sauce, steak sauce, chicken noodle soup, don't say any of it. Just eat your plant-based protein and mind your manners.

It sounds crazy now, but 70 or 80 years ago, the idea of state-sactioned same-sex marriage (outside of a Loony Tunes cartoon) would have been equally unthinkable.

 

[Tim Walker]

Sometimes science fiction features made up swear words.

1. "Frak" in Battlestar Galactica.

2. "Tanj" (There Ain't No Justice) in Larry Niven's Known Space universe.

Has the disadvantage of not sounding completely authentic. But at least the characters don't sound like little kids trying out swear words. (As Spock sounded in The Voyage Home).

 

[Greg Cox]

I remain crushed that FARSCAPE's "frell' didn't catch on the way BSG's "frak" did.

 

[dupersuper]

Indeed... then why is it that practically ALL employers DON'T allow use of swear words (or profanity) in the work place?
Speaking to your coworkers in a profane capacity can often have negative effects - it actually led to lawsuits.

Context and tone and body language shift from one person to the next.
And there are people who cannot read body language.

Do you approach people you don't know in the street and address them as Mr./Mrs./Miss or do you use profane language to address them?

WHY is it that if profanity is so 'good' and 'harmless' is that its NOT commonly used to politely address people?

The same reason I had to wear dress clothes to work on the telephone for years: random, objectively meaningless cultural norms formed over centuries.

My whole thing with swearing in Star Trek is largely that it will depend on the context. Picard's "Not good enough, damn it" bothers me far more than "fucking cool." Kirk's "you Klingon bastard" is more upsetting that Admiral Clancy. Context matters here.

Seriously? I feel the exact opposite (to the extent that I care about swearing at all). Are you my mirror universe double?