Part of the appeal of a worst word is the sense of danger that comes from speaking it. Knowing that you may insult someone within earshot means most people reserve it for special moments. Sometimes it's the only word that expresses--and helps vent--frustration and anger. For me, if I'm late for an appointment and the subway doors slam in my face, I can't just grumble, "Fiddlesticks!" It would be the emotional equivalent of a dry heave, an absolutely inadequate response.
Sure, there are other perfectly good expletives--graphic ones that describe various body parts and functions. And a reasonable argument could be made that fuck isn't the worst word. Many feel that distinction goes to the C-word--a word so loathsome to some people that I find myself reluctant to spell it out.
The problem is, those so deeply hurt by the very sight of that word tend to be women. Jay has conducted studies of how people rate the offensiveness of specific dirty words and reports that females overwhelmingly rate the C-word as the worst. But men aren't nearly as offended by it, so if you take the overall average of word ratings, the one that rhymes with bunt drops to third, behind fuck and--in Jay's opinion the word most people consider most offensive--motherfucker.
To be sure, MF is a double taboo--exclaim it and you're accusing someone not only of enjoying pleasures of the flesh, but of doing so with his or her own flesh. But what would motherfucker be without fuck? Mother-humper or mother-screwer or mother-copulator? It's the blunt edge of fuck that makes it hurt.
Fuck has shown incredible staying power as the worst all-around word in English, and it's showing little sign of losing its lowly status. Or make that lofty status, depending on your view. Of all the dirty words in our language, wrote Edward Sagarin in The Anatomy of Dirty Words,
&ldots;one word reigns supreme, unchallenged in its preeminence. It sits upon a throne, an absolute monarch, unafraid of any princely offspring still unborn, and by its subjects it is hated, feared, revered, and loved, known by all and recognized by none.
Some fucking endorsement, don't you think?
