Too-free speech.Byline: The Register-Guard What the world needs now are some killer new cusswords. All the old standbys, the thermonuclear ther·mo·nu·cle·ar adj. 1. Of, relating to, or derived from the fusion of atomic nuclei at high temperatures: thermonuclear reactions. 2. profanities of yore, have been hijacked by teenagers, rap singers and the cast of "The Sopranos." Sure, there's still some bang in the old f-bomb, but only if it goes off during prime time and the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. can fine the offender half a million bucks. In the halls of most middle schools, the f-word, particularly the gerund ger·und n. 1. In Latin, a noun derived from a verb and having all case forms except the nominative. 2. In other languages, a verbal noun analogous to the Latin gerund, such as the English form ending in -ing form, is a casual modifier (programming) modifier - An operation that alters the state of an object. Modifiers often have names that begin with "set" and corresponding selector functions whose names begin with "get". so ubiquitous that it appears between syllables in words such as "unbelievable" and "fantastic." All the subordinate scatologies and vulgarities below the Big One have suffered similar fates. From sixth-graders to soccer moms, the s-word follows "bull" and "holy" in everyday conversation as naturally as "you" follows the Big One every time Joe Pesci opens his mouth in "Goodfellas." A recent Washington Post story noted that school officials are seeing much more frequent use of inappropriate language by students, even in classrooms. Popular culture has made ugly language acceptable and hip, and many teachers expect things to get even uglier. The thrill is gone. The rebellious allure of forbidden speech is history, bludgeoned by music, movies and "mature" video games into little more than generic tastelessness. Our children are being serenaded by platinum-selling artists with names like Ol' Dirty Bastard “ODB” redirects here. For other uses, see ODB (disambiguation). Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13,2004) was an American MC known by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often shortened to ODB). . Actually, "were" being serenaded. Mr. Bastard passed away last November from a drug overdose Drug Overdose Definition A drug overdose is the accidental or intentional use of a drug or medicine in an amount that is higher than is normally used. . The point is that even their names lower the language bar, and there are plenty of band monikers out there so far below the bar this newspaper has set that even offering hints would be offensive. Short of discovering some potent new profanity Irreverence towards sacred things; particularly, an irreverent or blasphemous use of the name of God. Vulgar, irreverent, or coarse language. The use of certain profane or obscene language on the radio or television is a federal offense, but in other situations, profanity - good luck finding anything with the 500-year staying power of the f-word - the best strategy may be aggressive weeding. There is - no, er, fooling - a Web site (www.cusscontrol.com) filled with strategies for sanitizing unsavory speech. "To be on the safe side, stop using it altogether," say the helpful folks at the Cuss Control Academy, who, like the Bush administration, believe the best approach is abstinence. But unlike the president's one-trick sex educators, the cuss controllers understand that some people simply won't abstain. For those people, the advice is, "Control it, tame it, time it." Once you get your swearing under control, you'll find you have more free time, because you will have eliminated the extraneous verbiage verbiage - When the context involves a software or hardware system, this refers to documentation. This term borrows the connotations of mainstream "verbiage" to suggest that the documentation is of marginal utility and that the motives behind its production have little to do with in phrases like "no way" and "big deal." |
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