{"id":4706,"date":"2020-09-04T13:06:34","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T13:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/?p=4706"},"modified":"2024-04-20T16:04:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T16:04:43","slug":"fun-facts-69-expletives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/04\/fun-facts-69-expletives\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun Facts About English #69 &#8211; Expletive Infixations (NSFW)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kinneybrothers.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"702\" height=\"702\" data-attachment-id=\"5515\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/04\/fun-facts-69-expletives\/069-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?fit=1252%2C1252&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1252,1252\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Fun Facts About English 69 Kinney Brothers Publishing Blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?fit=702%2C702&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?resize=702%2C702&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Fun Facts About English 69\" class=\"wp-image-5515\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?w=1252&amp;ssl=1 1252w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\">FYI: The symbols used to mask swear words in text are called <em>grawlixes<\/em> and have been in use since 19-<em>fucking<\/em>-01.  They should always end with an exclamation point or question mark.  Importantly, if you&#8217;re swearing with a British accent, the $ sign should be replaced with a \u00a3 symbol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expletive infixations have been popular for quite some time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>abso-bloomin&#8217;-lutely<\/em> &#8211; &#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t It Be Loverly,&#8221; <em>My Fair Lady<\/em>, 1956<\/li><li><em>emanci-mother-fuckin&#8217;-pator<\/em> &#8211; &#8220;Abie Baby,&#8221; <em>Hair<\/em>, 1968<\/li><li><em>Out-bloody-rageous<\/em> &#8211;  <em>Third<\/em>, Soft Machine, 1970<\/li><li><em>fan-fucking-tastic<\/em> &#8211;  <em>Terms of Endearment<\/em>, 1983<\/li><li><em>Cinder-fucking-rella<\/em> &#8211; <em>Pretty Woman<\/em>, 1990<\/li><li><em>Viet-fuckin&#8217;-nam!<\/em> &#8211; <em>Forrest Gump<\/em>, 1994<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Linguists haven&#8217;t shied away from investigating how a person, with no other exposure, can form expletive infixations and be remarkably consistent.  Researchers believe that the rules for placement of expletives are not arbitrary but instead derive from fundamental aspects of English phonology.  Not all linguists are in agreement as to whether the insertion occurs at a stressed syllable boundary or a morpheme boundary (taking precedence over syllabic stress).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, most native English speakers intuitively understand that <em>ab-fucking-solutely<\/em> is not a quality infixation.  <em>Un-fucking-believable<\/em> and <em>unbe-fucking-lievable<\/em> illustrate the syllable verses morpheme boundary argument and the flexibility of inserting a preferred blasphemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the examples below use <em>fucking<\/em> as the curse word, please feel free to experiment with your favorite, e.g., <em>friggin<\/em>&#8216;, <em>freaking<\/em>, <em>motherfucking<\/em>, <em>bleeding<\/em>, <em>bloody<\/em>, <em>damned<\/em>, <em>goddamn<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Abso-<em>fucking<\/em>-lutely<\/li><li>fan-<em>fucking<\/em>-tastic<\/li><li>no-<em>fucking<\/em>-body<\/li><li>im-<em>fucking<\/em>-possible<\/li><li>Minne-<em>fucking<\/em>-sota<\/li><li>Phila-<em>fucking<\/em>-delphia?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now it&#8217;s time to test your swearing skill set.  Correctly insert a cuss word in the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>irresponsible<br>sensational<br>unrealistic<br>OK<br>45<br>California<br>Pakistan<br>hippopotamus<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Congratulations!  You&#8217;re a certified potty-mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"253\" data-attachment-id=\"5432\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/04\/fun-facts-69-expletives\/soap\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/soap.jpg?fit=300%2C253&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"300,253\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"soapFun Facts About English 69 Kinney Brothers Publishing Blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/soap.jpg?fit=300%2C253&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/soap.jpg?fit=300%2C253&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/soap.jpg?resize=300%2C253&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Soap Kinney Brothers Publishing\" class=\"wp-image-5432\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you enjoyed this post, you might also be interested in <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2021\/01\/31\/fun-facts-93-rooster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">why American&#8217;s prefer the word <em>rooster<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/06\/05\/fun-facts-56-mondegreen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mondegreens that will make you LOL<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2021\/01\/29\/fun-facts-91-jaywalker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">what the word <em>jaywalker<\/em> actually means<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-background\">See the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/08\/28\/fun-facts-68-jane-austen\/\" target=\"_blank\">previous<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/11\/fun-facts-70-palindrome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">next<\/a> <strong>Fun Facts About English<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Store\/Donalds-English-Classroom\/Category\/ESL-Textbooks-92662\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/HEADER_GIF.gif?w=702&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Donald's English Classroom\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Full textbook downloads are just a click away!  Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Store\/Donalds-English-Classroom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald&#8217;s English Classroom<\/a> for your kindergarten through adult ESL textbooks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FYI: The symbols used to mask swear words in text are called grawlixes and have been in use since 19-fucking-01. They should always end with an exclamation point or question mark. Importantly, if you&#8217;re swearing with a British accent, the $ sign should be replaced with a \u00a3 symbol. Expletive infixations have been popular for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[94],"tags":[962,959,20,956,964,958,11,955,963,960,957,961],"class_list":{"0":"post-4706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fun-facts-about-english","8":"tag-british-swearing","9":"tag-creative-cursing","10":"tag-donalds-english-classroom","11":"tag-expletive-infixations","12":"tag-funny-language-facts","13":"tag-grawlixes","14":"tag-kinney-brothers-publishing","15":"tag-linguistic-humor","16":"tag-phonology-of-swearing","17":"tag-profanity-in-text","18":"tag-swear-word-symbols","19":"tag-swearing-history","20":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/069.jpg?fit=1252%2C1252&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8GlQB-1dU","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4706"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9633,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4706\/revisions\/9633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}