Jun
29
“It no longer occurs to me to query the use of four-letter words, even when they are used gratuitously, as in “I missed the fucking bus.” I used to be a prude, but now I am a ruined woman. We had a discussion in the copy department a few weeks ago about how to style the euphemism: Shall it be “f”-word,” f word, f-word, “F” word, F word, or F-word? I don’t like any of them. Fuck euphemisms. Get on the goddam fucking bus.”
Mary Norris on profanity in The New Yorker: http://nyr.kr/OArE2z (via newyorker)
A lovely thing in general, but very much agreed on the specifics. Stop putting asterisks in things or coming up with euphemisms. Just say it already. There aren’t a lot of writing things that drive me more nuts than to see “f**king” used by someone over the age of 10.
(Source: newyorker.com, via aatombomb)
