Interesting how context is so important to meaning, particularly with regard to the dimension of time ...The "F" word is an interesting example: it can be used in a rude or aggressive way; it gets used in meetings, etc as punctuation; it's sometimes used in its original Anglo Saxon meeting; I heard it used in a marketing presentation last week in a sort of intnded amusing way ("Facebook paid $xxx billion dollars for Instagram, you say F****! How can it be worth that." The presenter then processed to explain five elements of value ...). Interestingly, he was not a native (although good) English speaker, and I've noticed some (but not all) of my friend who have English as a second or third language use four letter words more freely (an Iraqi friend used the F word at least once in every sentence but he had worked as a management consultant ... ) I wonder if that sort of devalues it as a swear word with time, or to quote Boris: "F*** business!" Although one of his supporters said today it was just a throw-a-way comment; probably true, just like everything else he says?
Michael Ixer ● 2597d