Nov 28, 2009
Curse words are almost always simple words to say…so they’re also simple words to reinvent.
Like this post?
Me:
Orison, put on your sweatshirt.
Orison:
Damn. Damn!
Me:
Um…what?
Where’d you hear that?
Orison:
Nowhere. I made it up.
* * * * *
I’m coming out of the lurkosphere to share that I once made up the f-word because I thought it sounded like a zipper.
Orison, I sympathize.
That’s awesome. I might be too old to get away with that as an excuse. What a shame.
I once used the F-word in front of my dad. I was like 13. I knew it was a little racy, but didn’t know it was like the World Cup of racy. Dad helped me out on that one.
My daughters made up the word “piss” because that’s what it sounds like.
My 4-yr-old daughter likes to make sounds that rhyme. For some reason, it is not uncommon for her to start with “puck”. Things degrade quickly from there.
I remember saying (ah-la valley girl), “Oh my God, DAD.” to him when I was about 6. I think he bumped me when he was buckling my little brother into the car…
It DID not go over well.
My grandmother (God rest her soul), a very proper southern lady, would make a “sheee-eee” sound while changing my diaper. In my infantile innocence, I would smile and imitate her. Until the time she was doing this with the family within earshot and I added the inevitable “t” sound to the end. Brought a quick end to that little game.
haha. That’s one of my favorite words, but don’t tell Orison.
What did you say then, Abraham?
Am I the only one to doubt that he hasn’t heard it – probably on more than one occasion – even in his short innocent life?
Agreed. How else would he use it so perfectly given the context?
But did he KNOW he wasn’t making it up?
but…don’t you think if he thought he was doing something bad, he’d be quick to blame someone rather than taking full credit?
orison makes up LOTS of words. it’s inevitable that he’d make up some that just happen to be bad in certain contexts.
I very specifically remember “testing” that word out when I was in a grocery store with my mom when I was 5. Someone had told me it was a bad word, but I didn’t believe them, so I just blurted it out randomly to get her reaction. It worked.
I’m sure Orison got that from one of his grandpa’s sermons. Probably in a different context, though. :)
You really need to go see the Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Cuss, Cuss, Cuss… Great little movie with a great take on cussing.
I loved that movie!
My son loves to say, “It hurts like hell.”
Dad: “What? It hurts like what again?”
Son: “Hell. You know, the ice balls from the sky. Hail. It hurts like hail.”
funny. :)
Nice.
No joke! Just a moment ago my 6 year old was in the other room playing a video game with his aunt and started saying something that sounds like “my damn feet”. I asked him, “What are you saying?” He repeated it a few times and said he was saying, “My dan feet.” (???) When I asked where he heard that he said (of course), “I made it up.” Hmmmmm. :P
I think this incident raises the question of how these words came to be considered obscene.
I don’t use them myself, but it is somewhat interesting that certain combinations of letters are considered more offensive than others.
Of course it’s contextual. I tend to think this word in particular gained its meaning from the Christian canon. “Damn it to hell,” “God damn” something, etc all carry the idea that damning something is an indication of disapprobation.
Some of the others, I don’t know. I don’t really care, to be honest. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and if what you mean is bad, then fix that. If there’s a problem with your speech, it’s a heart issue – focus on filling the heart with good things (so that good things can come out), rather than teaching a person to be an angry hypocrite. The offense comes from an angry heart, not a combination of letters.
Haha, needed a morning laugh to go with my cup of coffee. My littlest one is 19 months, so while he’s not making up words, he is horribly mispronouncing them. Sooo funny, yet, sooo inappropriate at times.
When I was about 5 or 6, my friends “made up” a new word (I think it was with the help of an older brother).
I told it to my mom. I got my mouth washed out with soap.
Kids are great! My son loves trucks, but he used to struggle with that “tr” sound, so….
We live near the beach, too, but that “ea” sound didn’t use to come out right either.
Michale Svigel has a great article called “Toward An Evangelical Theology of Cussing.”
He’s protecting his mom…she is a total potty-mouth:)