[Ads-l] fuck them

[Benjamin Barrett]

I always assumed “fuck you” is an imperative, but it’s not clear what is being commanded (unless it means something vague like “go jump in a lake”), and even more to the point, the form “fuck them” surely cannot be imperative.

Is this a subjunctive desiderative such as “May it rain today!"? I don’t know what else to call these forms.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org