Originally posted by Nass No worries, Adam's not a huge fan of the F word though so just seems like a good idea to perhaps tone it down a bit.
"Profanity is the laxative that purges the soul" - allegedly an old German proverb that I recall reading in a WW2 Luftwaffe pilot's autobiography. Accurately-quoted or not, I find it occasionally useful.
Interesting, though, to note the various words, prejudicial or otherwise, that are used in its place.
"Profanity" of course, refers to a "wordly" word or phrase (as distinct from "sacred").
"Swearing" invokes a deity in some way, as does "Cursing", and both are meaningless for those without religious belief.
"Dirty", "foul" or similar have no real meaning in language, but are useful words for the delicately-eared who try to avoid bodily references, although "earthy" is close but implies the user is grounded in reality, rather than in perversion.
Personally, I prefer "expletive" for the more jarring profanities. Used sparingly, all such words are valid when applying emphasis. Let's not get too prissy about these matters - all things in moderation, moderators.