Friggin', Flippin', Frickin', etc....

[DawnM]

I don't use these and don't like them, because in my head the "real" F word is said.

 

However, when did you start hearing these used in place of the "real F word?"

 

I keep hearing them in TV shows that are meant to take place back in the 80s or so and I could swear we didn't use or hear them back then.   But maybe it is just me?

[katilac]

Definitely in use in the 1980s, that was when I went to high school and college. We said them all the freakin' time. 

[kewb]

I know I used them when I was a teen so definitely around in the 70s and 80s.

[Rosie_0801]

My parents used them when I was growing up in the 80's.

[theelfqueen]

We definitely used fricking in the early 80s.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[freesia]

We definitely used fricking in the early 80s.

 

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Yes-I first heard it around 83 when our swim teacher at school used it.

[Penguin]

OP, not just you. I graduated from high school in 1981 and we never said those substitutes. Just the real one. I first noticed them in the 90s, maybe? Could be regional.

Edited October 25, 2017 by Penguin

[Guest]

Lots of substitutions when I was a teen in the 80’s. I still say them. I say “freakin†a lot. Also substitutes for Sh—. Sugar, shoot, sheista.

[klmama]

I've never heard "Dude" used instead of a curse word.  Can you give an example, please?

[AndyJoy]

It might be regionally influenced as well. I didn't hear them until I was a college student in CA in 2000. But I went to a private school in another state that banned all euphemisms, such as "shoot" and "dang." But even amongst the public school kids I played sports with and took a couple classes with, I never heard them. When I taught jr. high at a private school in CA in 2008, many of my students used them frequently, but I didn't allow it in my classroom.

[Guest]

Most "soft cuss words" are substitutes.  Dang, gosh, flippin', shoot, heck....  

 

If I am going to explode, I prefer to at least control myself to use the substitutes.  It is at least a modicum of control on my part, and it seems less pollution-inducing for those around me. 

 

But what I really need and want to do is to become a person who can keep inner stillness and not one who is explosive.  

 

 

[Word Nerd]

Fricking has definitely been around since I was a kid in the 80s.

[SKL]

I heard them from my mother and my granny when I was a small child.  (I am 51.)

 

My kids insist that frickin is a cuss word, so I say freaka frocka or similar.  They still count those against me, but what's a cussing mom to do .....

 

My very religious mom friend (also in her 50s) used flippin' in a text to me regarding something the school did to us.  So I'm guessing it's not considered cursing at her house ....

Edited October 25, 2017 by SKL

[nixpix5]

The 80s was when I heard frick'n alot. By late 80s I remember things like "ni freaking way" and flipp'n don't recall much in the 80s for me but definitely the 90s when I was in high school.

[Scarlett]

Most "soft cuss words" are substitutes. Dang, gosh, flippin', shoot, heck....

 

If I am going to explode, I prefer to at least control myself to use the substitutes. It is at least a modicum of control on my part, and it seems less pollution-inducing for those around me.

 

But what I really need and want to do is to become a person who can keep inner stillness and not one who is explosive.

Me too!

[ElizabethB]

When our kids were quite young, we tried a few 80's movies and were struck by how much swearing was in them, I didn't remember any of it.  One movie, I think it was Short Circuit, I laughed out loud because they had worked so hard to stick a swear word in a sentence, it didn't fit grammatically at all, it was like they were just trying to up the number of swear words and hadn't said any for a few minutes.   Since they were so young, we let them watch them, but  when they were a bit older we stopped 80's movies for a while.  Now, we allow them again.  

[bettyandbob]

I remember them from the 80s as well.

[umsami]

I heard them as a kid in the 70s/80s.  I'd much rather a kid/adult use one of these, then actually swear, especially if little kids are around.

 

When my kids were younger, the eldest two used to curse like Spongebob and say "Oh Barnacles!" and something about King Neptune's Beard.  LOL  I miss those days.

[KungFuPanda]

This thread is sofa king interesting!

[MysteryJen]

That's it. A person (could be guy or girl I can't always tell) cuts in front of me and I yell out loud "Dude!?!?!"

 

That is me. Dude is all purpose.

[Reefgazer]

I know they are substitute F words, but it's better than the real thing.  I hate when headlines online use the F word and just substitute a * in place of the U; I think journalistic standards should be higher.

[DawnM]

Frickin-A was my car curse word in the early 90's when I first learned to drive. I'm west coast, so "Dude!" was my next most used fake curse word. 

 

Dude was a sub for a curse word?  We used that one all the time, but just to refer to a person.  In fact, our youth group leader used it.  I have never heard it used as a sub for a swear word.

 

I was West Coast too and didn't hear these in the 90's at all.   But it could be I wasn't paying attention too, that is entirely possible.   :lol:

Edited October 26, 2017 by DawnM

[QueenCat]

All of those were used among my peers in the '80s. I still use flippin and don't have an ounce of guilt for doing so. And no, I'm certainly not "low class" for doing so. I do know where it's not appropriate. 

[DawnM]

All I can say is it is multipurpose. There's surfer "duuuuuude" like whoa. Or as a substitute for saying guy or man. Or as a replacement for "WTH?!? or WTF?!?!" I doubt your youth group leader used it like I did.  :blush:

 

I don't really use it in every day conversation.....at least, I don't think I do. :001_rolleyes:   

 

 

There was a comedian who did a schpeil with the word Dude and all it's uses.....he was really funny.  Although, I don't even remember him using it as a sub for a swear word.

 

But even as "whoa" it is still referring to the person you are speaking to.  

[DawnM]

When our kids were quite young, we tried a few 80's movies and were struck by how much swearing was in them, I didn't remember any of it.  One movie, I think it was Short Circuit, I laughed out loud because they had worked so hard to stick a swear word in a sentence, it didn't fit grammatically at all, it was like they were just trying to up the number of swear words and hadn't said any for a few minutes.   Since they were so young, we let them watch them, but  when they were a bit older we stopped 80's movies for a while.  Now, we allow them again.  

 

That reminds me of when my oldest was about 3 or 4 and in preschool.  I got a call from the preschool because he was mumbling, "We don't say fat, we don't say stupid, and we don't say F---ing it."

 

He used it incorrectly and it actually made me laugh, but not really.  He had heard it from a movie we were watching.  We don't use that word.

[Lady Florida.]

I don't have any idea when I heard flippin' or freaking/freakin', but growing up in the 60s I heard friggin' and frickin' all the time said by adults. Another one you didn't mention is frackin'/frak, which came from Battlestar Galactica. I know it was in the original movie but I didn't start hearing it regularly until the series aired on tv.

 

None of them bother me but the actual word doesn't bother me either.

[poppy]

I'm sorry but flippin' is the exact same thing. If I hear someone say it, I think "they are using an expletive but are conditioned to think expletives are bad".  I don't think "my that person has good self control!  It's just the social milieu you were raised in, not moral superiority .

 

 

And:  Jeezum Crow  is blasphemy.  

[QueenCat]

I'm sorry but flippin' is the exact same thing. If I hear someone say it, I think "they are using an expletive but are conditioned to think expletives are bad".  I don't think "my that person has good self control!  It's just the social milieu you were raised in, not moral superiority .

 

 

And:  Jeezum Crow  is blasphemy.  

 

Flippin is what naturally comes out of my mouth. I don't think "wait, don't say THAT word". I'm saying "flippin", not the other word. Other people don't get to decide I meant the 4 letter nasty word. Flippin is absolutely a milder word choice.

 

And I've never heard "Jeezum Crow." Is that a really older term (I was a teen in the late 70s and early 80s)? Or a newer one? 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't know.  Doesn't bother me at all though.

 

 

[Janeway]

Frickin is a bad word. Friggin is trying to be a bad word. Flippin is what you do with pancakes so is not yet a bad word. My children are not allowed to say the first two words. But, I guess if they say flippin, maybe I will ban that word too....we will see.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Janeway

[redsquirrel]

I'm sorry but flippin' is the exact same thing. If I hear someone say it, I think "they are using an expletive but are conditioned to think expletives are bad".  I don't think "my that person has good self control!  It's just the social milieu you were raised in, not moral superiority .

 

 

And:  Jeezum Crow  is blasphemy.  

 

Jeesum Crow? Did you grow up in the Adirondacks?  Jeesum Crow is the official bird up here, doncha know? Tabernac, cha know, I only hear that when I go home

 

I left there a long time ago, but I still live in upstate NY. If I get really tired I will let slip a jeesum crow and I always have to explain myself. 

[mommaduck]

They've been used in various Sci-Fi and later than the 80's. 90's and into the new millennium. I know some people have an issue with them. I currently do not and have no problem saying fricking or fracking. It's okay if you don't like it. 

[Sandwalker]

Definitely in use in the 1980s, that was when I went to high school and college. We said them all the freakin' time.

:mic drop:

[poppy]

Flippin is what naturally comes out of my mouth. I don't think "wait, don't say THAT word". I'm saying "flippin", not the other word. Other people don't get to decide I meant the 4 letter nasty word. Flippin is absolutely a milder word choice.

 

And I've never heard "Jeezum Crow." Is that a really older term (I was a teen in the late 70s and early 80s)? Or a newer one? 

 

Right. They're all just expletives.   I just don't think one is nicer than another.

 

Jeezum Crow, Jiminiy Cricket, Jeepers Creepers.  All minced oath with the exact same meaning.  What name does Gee Whizz remind you of?

[mommaduck]

Cheese Whiz, to be honest.

 

"Minced oaths" is one of those made up issues within fundamentalism that I left behind, along with fundamentalism itself.

Edited October 26, 2017 by mommaduck

[QueenCat]

Right. They're all just expletives.   I just don't think one is nicer than another.

 

Jeezum Crow, Jiminiy Cricket, Jeepers Creepers.  All minced oath with the exact same meaning.  What name does Gee Whizz remind you of?

 

In your opinion, not mine. I do think that some expletives are just fine, and a good part of the things we sometimes need to say. Others are truly bad words/phrases. And that some are "no big deal" and not "curse words." 

 

Gee Whizz doesn't remind me of anything, it's just "Gee Whizz". And I've never associated Jiminy Cricket or Jeepers Creepers with anything. I don't use them, just haven't been part of my vocab, but I don't think they are horrible words. 

[poppy]

In your opinion, not mine. I do think that some expletives are just fine, and a good part of the things we sometimes need to say. Others are truly bad words/phrases. And that some are "no big deal" and not "curse words."

 

Gee Whizz doesn't remind me of anything, it's just "Gee Whizz". And I've never associated Jiminy Cricket or Jeepers Creepers with anything. I don't use them, just haven't been part of my vocab, but I don't think they are horrible words.

I don’t they are horrible words either. Just that the blasphemy root is interesting . Gee Whizz = Jesus. Not some utterly random collection of syllables .

 

 

Can you tell me why some expletives are ‘just fine’ and some are ‘truly bad ‘?

Edited October 27, 2017 by poppy

[mommaduck]

I never associated Gee Whiz with Jesus until someone with an issue with it pointed it out. Again, someone made a connection where there was none to begin with. Just like the whole "if you move the N in Santa, you can make the word Satan, therefore Santa is Satan" garbage type logic.

[QueenCat]

I don’t they are horrible words either. Just that the blasphemy root is interesting . Gee Whizz = Jesus. Not some utterly random collection of syllables .

 

 

Can you tell me why some expletives are ‘just fine’ and some are ‘truly bad ‘?

 

I don't get the connection with gee whizz and Jesus. I knew that was what you were implying. That's a phrase I remember teachers using in elementary school, in the 71-76. 

 

I can't really explain why..... I see nothing wrong with flippin, crap, .... they are just expressions. Unlike other words that I can't type here. And I haven't heard gee whiz used as an expletive. More like "Gee whiz, that's rocks." Here's a dictionary definition:

 

gee-whiz. adjective. Informal. Marked by or inducing a sense of wide-eyed wonder or excitement, as in response to an amazing achievement: “The book seems a little too gee-whiz even for describing what everyone does admit is a revolution†( Savvy )

Gee whiz dictionary definition | gee whiz defined - YourDictionary

www.yourdictionary.com/gee-whiz

[QueenCat]

Cheese Whiz, to be honest.

 

"Minced oaths" is one of those made up issues within fundamentalism that I left behind, along with fundamentalism itself.

 

Yes, thank you. 

[Amber in SJ]

That's it. A person (could be guy or girl I can't always tell) cuts in front of me and I yell out loud "Dude!?!?!" 

Or ir it was really bad, "What the flip, Dude?"

 

Amber in SJ

[2_girls_mommy]

That's it. A person (could be guy or girl I can't always tell) cuts in front of me and I yell out loud "Dude!?!?!" 

I do the same thing, lol. 

[Amber in SJ]

I use all kinds of made up swear words & I don't care if someone thinks I mean the bad word.  I say flibertygibbit, snickelfritz, snapplejacks, dagnabbit, dadgum (my kids say only Mater says that one.) 

 

People who think replacement swear words are the same as swear words are working some fuzzy logic.  And no, I am not using fuzzy as a replacement word.  When I say snapplejacks to express strong feelings after I have broken my toe on the corner of the dryer, I am not thinking of the actual swear word and choosing a word that is similar but with the same intent and therefore just as offensive as the swear word.  If I use a word to express strong feelings after narrowly escaping an automobile accident and that word happens to sound like a deity or have the same initials as a deity doesn't mean I am being blasphemous.  Seriously?  Do Muslim people ban every made up word that expresses strong feelings that happens to start with "M" because the name of the prophet starts with "M?" That would be weird.

 

JMHO

 

Amber in SJ 

[poppy]

I use all kinds of made up swear words & I don't care if someone thinks I mean the bad word.  I say flibertygibbit, snickelfritz, snapplejacks, dagnabbit, dadgum (my kids say only Mater says that one.) 

 

People who think replacement swear words are the same as swear words are working some fuzzy logic.  And no, I am not using fuzzy as a replacement word.  When I say snapplejacks to express strong feelings after I have broken my toe on the corner of the dryer, I am not thinking of the actual swear word and choosing a word that is similar but with the same intent and therefore just as offensive as the swear word.  If I use a word to express strong feelings after narrowly escaping an automobile accident and that word happens to sound like a deity or have the same initials as a deity doesn't mean I am being blasphemous.  Seriously?  Do Muslim people ban every made up word that expresses strong feelings that happens to start with "M" because the name of the prophet starts with "M?" That would be weird.

 

JMHO

 

Amber in SJ 

 

This issue isn't that your made up swear word  is actually secretly offensive.... the issue is the other words aren't actually "bad" at all. They're just words. They all mean the same thing. An exclamation of surprise and frustration, usually.. Calling one "bad" and the other "not bad" ---- I see zero logic there.

[poppy]

I never associated Gee Whiz with Jesus until someone with an issue with it pointed it out. Again, someone made a connection where there was none to begin with. Just like the whole "if you move the N in Santa, you can make the word Satan, therefore Santa is Satan" garbage type logic.

 

Garbage logic? These are classic minced oaths, it's not some wackadoo theory I came up with it.  Why do you think people came up with the sounds Gee Whiz?  If someone said to you "Oh jeez I'm sorry" would you also not consider that related to the word Jesus? Do you think  gosh just randomly happens to sounds like god? And it's a complete coincidence that gosh darn sounds a whole lot like "god" and "damn"? 

[foxbridgeacademy]

Freakin' and Friggin' definitely 80's but Frick, not until 90's.  When the kids were little I tried to use them more often in exchange for the other "f" word but now that they're teens I don't even bother replacing, after all they're all just words.

[mommaduck]

Garbage logic? These are classic minced oaths, it's not some wackadoo theory I came up with it.  Why do you think people came up with the sounds Gee Whiz?  If someone said to you "Oh jeez I'm sorry" would you also not consider that related to the word Jesus? Do you think  gosh just randomly happens to sounds like god? And it's a complete coincidence that gosh darn sounds a whole lot like "god" and "damn"? 

 

It is garbage logic. No, I never said you made it up. Some fundamentalist in the past did and passed it around. Just like Jack Chick makes a bunch of leaps and connections that aren't there between one subject and another. It's a made up issue. And, no, jeez is not related to Jesus, except in the minds of those that want to make an issue of it, just as those that want to imagine that Santa is related to Satan. Gosh does not sound like God. Efcharistó sounds like "a far stool" to some people. It's not related. One is Thank You and the other is A Far Stool.

[QueenCat]

Garbage logic? These are classic minced oaths, it's not some wackadoo theory I came up with it.  Why do you think people came up with the sounds Gee Whiz?  If someone said to you "Oh jeez I'm sorry" would you also not consider that related to the word Jesus? Do you think  gosh just randomly happens to sounds like god? And it's a complete coincidence that gosh darn sounds a whole lot like "god" and "damn"? 

No, actually, I do not think in "TODAY'S WORLD" that gosh has any connotation to God, even thought it may have, to some, once meant such a thing. To me, this about people putting more into something than is actually there, and often (not you, specifically, as I don't know your intent) acting morally superior because of their view on it. 

Edited October 27, 2017 by QueenCat