
How Did “THAT” Word Get It’s Start and Use in Modern Language?
When I was growing up... as I'm sure was probably the deal with most people, the F-bomb was the super-naughty word. Like as Ralphie says in The Christmas Story, the MOTHER of all curse words! Like that was the big bad one. Soap in the mouth for sure! Although I'm not sure how people are disciplined now, I'm sure soap in the mouth is also a no-no.
Call it just curiosity, but I was wondering how the "mother of naughty words" found its way into people's speech. So I did some research...
I didn't realize that word had been around for as long as it had been. Like I think of the people from the 50s as the Cleavers. You know- Ward, June, Wally and the Beaver. Leave it to Beaver land would never have used THAT word!

But apparently, it's been around since the 1500s. WHAT?? In what way?? And who actually recorded that little piece of information? Well, according to an article from the Daily Mail...
The PLAGUE? And just being bored? I'm not sure that would be the word I would use when writing a manuscript. But anyway, it does have some other origin uses.
- Though the F-word was first in print around 1500, etymologists aren’t sure of its origins.
- For the next 500 years, it was censored in print and polite society, yet remained widespread in common use.
- Today, the word has lost much of its stigma and is being used more to highlight the intensity of a thought.
So, even back then it was censored. So, how did it become such a "feeling" word now in modern times? I'm still thrown with the fact that it was used as far back as the 1500s, and possibly even before.
Well, now you have some useless trivia knowledge. Could be a Jeopardy question.
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