mofo

[Wilson Gray]

Sorry, Jon. I should have pointed that out myself.

-Wilson


On Mar 25, 2005, at 11:45 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: mofo
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>
> May I recommend HDAS II for its wide selection of "m.f"-style partial
> euphemisms ?
>
> Including, of course, "m.f."
>
> JL
>
> Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM> wrote:
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: mofo
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>
> On Mar 25, 2005, at 12:26 AM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: "Douglas G. Wilson"
>> Subject: Re: mofo
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>> -
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>>
>> I used to hear something like "muh-fuh" for "motherf*cker" or
>> "motherf*cking" routinely at school around 1961. It wasn't QUITE
>> /mVfV/,
>> maybe more like /mV at fV/ with just a trace of the second syllable of
>> "mother" remaining but with both the "th" sound (which was sometimes
>> "d"
>> when fully pronounced) and the "k" sound entirely elided (except for
>> maybe
>> a ghost of a glottal stop at the end). It may be that the young
>> fellows
>> were putting on an exaggerated pronunciation as Wilson Gray suggests,
>> but I
>> did not perceive it that way at the time, and it could not have been
>> euphemistic (but could have been a "tough guy" or "cool guy"
>> affectation
>> maybe). I don't think I've heard this lately.
>>
>> -- Doug Wilson
>>
>
> Doug, my friend, when I said that ''muhfuh" was pseudo-euphemistic
> pronunciation, I had in mind only my personal experience amongst that
> vanishingly-small portion of the colored population with whom I am or
> have been personally acquainted. Among them, it definitely is the case
> that any pronunciation other than "muthuhfuckuh" or "motherfucker"
> really is considered a pseudo-euphemism. That is to say, though the
> speaker hasn't actually said "motherfucker," hearers are fully aware
> that that's what he means. You wouldn't use this when talking to your
> parents, but you might use it with your wife or your girlfriend,
> perhaps saying "Pardon my French" or some such thing. And, of course,
> there's the age gap. By 1961, I had already spent several years in the
> Army. Furthermore, any two consecutive syllables or even two
> consecutive words, one beginning with "m" followed by one beginning
> with "f" can be interpreted as a coded form of "motherfucker." An
> example of this kind of coded form is the phrase, "my friend." ;-)
>
> -Wilson Gray
>
>
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