Customer Reviews

The F-Word

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This book is certainly different, if nothing else. It contains a distressingly complete etymology of everyone's favourite word, dating back to the 1600s.

All sorts of phrases containing 'the magic word' are included and referenced, as well as some words of equivalent meaning, some euphemisms for it ('freak', for example), and some great abbreviations (eg 'BUFF').

A great range of sources are used, from James Joyce to Madonna to Usenet erotica newsgroup posts. All serve to illustrate the point that the 'F-word' is one of the more versatile words in our language, and can fit into virtually any situation.

All in all, it's a fascinating and funny read for anyone interested in the English language, and I'm sure it says something that the history of a word such as this is so much more easily documented than probably any other word.

Thanks to ADHD, I have a hard time focusing for any length of time on the written word, but I love reference books and I love the English language. I have numerous lexicons from American Slang, to quotations, scientific dictionaries, etc. This one is not for the kids, but it has come in helpful a number of times.

I used to feel pretty hip, but now that my teen years are far behind me, I no longer know everything - and I am really feeling like an old codger when I hear a new phrase on TV or in a movie I've never heard before.

If someone has remolded the "F-word" into another word or phrase, it's in this little dictionary. Almost an encyclopedia of the F-word. Each entry gives an approximate date of usage (some usages are timeless, and used for over a hundred years, some are over a hundred years old and just aren't used at all. If the phrase or word first showed up in a book or movie, that reference is also given. Examples are cited and the origins of how each word evolved (as appropriate) are also noted.

As needed, a listing will note if it is a colloquialism for an age group, racial group, sexual lifestyle group, etc.

I had no idea what Stevie Wonder's song "Bad Mamma Jamma" meant until reading the definition in this text!

The illustrations are clever, and surprisingly not vulgar, considering what book they are in. This is far more than just a snicker-fest - although you can sit down and read it and giggle here & there, it is truly a reference book for American slang at its worst.

The F Word. . .proves to be a rare item indeed: a comprehensive, vastly eclectic, tongue-in-cheek serious treatment that has to be the first and last word on this world-class Word. For the curious layperson, it will be a source of amazement and information, a good deal of it funny.

As reviewed by Benedict B. Kimmelmann, in the Summer 1996 (Vol. XXIII, No. 1) issue of VERBATIM, The Language Quarterly.

If you're the type who has actually sat reading a dictionary, you'll love this book. I had no idea this word had such a rich history or variety of usage! As a teacher of English to speakers of other languages, I would heartily recommend this to my students, as many have no idea how powerful this word is - or how many things it can (dangerously) mean.

I was expecting an interesting book about the history of the F word. What I got was a small book that looked like it had been made on a copy machine, and was filled with extremely boring references. I usually enjoy these types of books, but this one was a loser.

I can't imagine wanting to sit down and read any other dictionary from cover to cover. A fun and informative read that manages to bring scholarly rigor to its slangy subject.

Are we so unintelligent that we must use words like this in our language? Truly intelligent people don't need to use words like this to convey a thought or opinion. In a world where children speak disrespectfully to parents and every sentence spoken by many people contains an obscenity is it really necessary to focus on what many consider the most useless word in the English Lanuage? Reader's Digest carried an article in their Dec 1998 issue about this word's uselessness. We no longer need consent of a king to fornicate, must we glamorize this word to keep it alive? Does Random House think this is the type of book we as Americans NEED to read? They have certainly scraped the bottom of the barrel publishing this book. I've got a suggestion.. instead of reading this book, why don't we drop it from our language? There are certainly other words that can be substituted for "The F Word", and other books too.