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Kel Richards'
Ozwords

Kel Richards' OzwordsKel Richards' OzwordsKel Richards' Ozwords

The Ozword of the Day: "The 'F' word"

It wasn’t all that long ago that President Trump angrily complained about Iran and Israel that they ‘have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what f--- they’re doing.’ 

(No. I’m not going to spell out the word in this column.) 

Shortly afterwards, journalist David Penberthy asked whether the ‘F’ word now had a presidential pardon. 

He wrote that: ‘Trump’s press conference was a major moment in the history of both linguistics and manners.’ 

Penberthy was raising the question of whether or not (as the leader of the Free World) Trump has issued a sort of global permission for anyone blowing off steam to use this highly offensive word. 

Penberthy asked: ‘Will we be using it on radio soon? Will it make its way into press conferences?’ 

All I can say is: I hope not. 

Admitting that he might he exposing himself as a foul-mouthed bogan he says in his opinion some sentences are rendered vastly better by inclusion of the “F” word. 

Sorry, David, I can’t agree with you. 

Part of David’s defence is that it is an ancient word that ‘predates Shakespeare and was used by Chaucer.’ 

The word in question appears in English in the 1500s, so it was most probably not known by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400). 

And there is no evidence of it in Shakespeare’s published works. 

So how David claims to have this historical knowledge denied to everyone (except Doctor Who) I don’t know. 

The “F” word seems to come from a Germanic source, and to be related to a large number of similar words in other Germanic languages. 

It’s earliest meaning may have been something like ‘to hit’ or ‘to strike’ but it fairly quickly came to be applied to sexual intercourse. 

And I must say it strikes me as odd to use a word that should refer to intimacy and affection as a swear word. 

But whatever its history, it has long ceased to be a civilised word used by civilised people. 

The Oxford English Dictionary labels it as ‘course.’ Exactly. 

Our standards are collapsing, and if we are guided by David Penberthy in this matter they will only collapse further. 

It is right and proper that language should strive to be decent and respectable—while still being vigorous and clear. 

If someone utters the “F” word in a moment of great emotional distress, we might forgive them—but we would not make their behaviour standard or normal. 

So, no, even if the president said it, the “F” word is still on the banned list! 


Tonight I will be a panellist on 'The Sunday Showdown' on Sky News (8pm AEST)


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BY THE WAY...


The latest edition of Quadrant magazine is now in the newsagents -- including my article on 'Recognizing Racism".


The May-June issue of Australian Geographic is out now (with the tree frog on the cover) -- inside are my two small columns on 'Placenames' and 'Ozwords'.


If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic


The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.


BOOKS:


* My latest book is -- "Defending the Gospel" (second, fully revised, edition). You can find it here:  Defending the Gospel – matthiasmedia.com.au 


* If you're looking for my recent book "Flash Jim" you'll find it here --  Flash Jim, The astonis

hing story of the convict fraudster who wrote Australia's first dictionary by Kel Richards | 9781460759769 | Booktopia 


* You can find all Kel's books currently in print here --  Booktopia Search Results for 'kel richards'. We sell books, hardback, paperback, audio, CDs.  

 

* And also here --   Amazon.com.au : Kel Richards 


* And you'll find more here --  Search: 4 results found for "Kel Richards" – matthiasmedia.com.au 


* Many of Kel's out of print books can be found at ABE Books --  Kel Richards - AbeBooks explaining words explain the term

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THE AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE

Kel Richards has been reporting on the Australian language for more than 30 years, and is the author of ten books about words and language. He has been described in one newspaper article as "the wordsmith to the nation." Kel is a veteran Australian author, journalist and broadcaster. In a long and distinguished career he has hosted ABC radio's flagship daily current affairs show "AM" and his own talkback shows on commercial radio. For 12 years Kel wrote and presented the popular daily feature "Word Watch" on ABC NewsRadio. For several years Kel was a member of the Standing Committee on Spoken English (SCOSE) at the ABC. Kel presents the weekly "Words Matter" segment on Peta Credlin's program on Sky News, he writes the "Language" column for The Spectator Australia and the "Ozwords" and "Placenames" columns for Australian Geographic. Kel joins John Stanley on 2GB, 4BC, 2CC and the Nine Radio Network each week for "The Word Clinic."

Ozwords appears in every issue of AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC.

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