Article on the F-Word

[Wilson Gray]

Does anybody else remember the 1956 Philip K. Dick novel, "The Man Who
Japed"? The book was about a guy who fucked around. Cf.Prof. Fairman's
section on the etymology of "fuck," p.6f.

-Wilson

On 7/15/06, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Article on the F-Word
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>         Christopher Fairman, an Associate Professor of Law at Ohio State
> University, has written a 74-page paper on the principal obscene word of
> the English language.  Professor Fairman would object strongly to the
> circumlocutions of my preceding sentence and subject line; his belief is
> that taboo
> language should be included in dictionaries, freely spoken and written
> in our schools and colleges, printed in our newspapers and magazines,
> and broadcast on radio and television.  Taking this to its logical
> conclusion, his paper is succinctly entitled "Fuck."  He pointedly
> praises the title of Fred Shapiro's article, The Politically Correct
> United States Supreme Court and the Motherfucking Texas Court of
> Criminal Appeals: Using Legal Databases to Trace the Origins of Words
> and Quotations.  He also praises Jesse Sheidlower's definitive source,
> The F-Word, apparently feeling that its 272 pages of obscenity is more
> than sufficient to overcome its title.  Fairman's paper, which includes
> discussions of the leading legal opinions in this area, is available
> online at
>
> http://www.thecorporatecounsel.net/nonMember/Files/03_06_Fairman.pdf
>
>
> John Baker
>
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