Talk:Losing religion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See curse for a definition of a classical curse. Shit and fuck, though considered vulgar, are not profane in their most common applications.

Because the following (as stated in the "curse" article) is true:

In a broader sense, 'curse' is a loose synonym for blasphemy or profanity,

you need to explain why "shit" or "fuck" but not "Goddamn it" would be counted as a curse. Users of this encyclopedia generally understand a curse to encompass words like "shit" and "fuck." If you are offering an alternative definition of a curse, you need to elaborate upon it more, and also explain why "shit" and "fuck" are acceptable usages here (which is what your article implied).

Perhaps it isn't worth it. Among farmers, at least, "shit" is so widely used as a noun (only the truly lily white use words like "fertilizer" or "manure" to refer to this frequently encountered substance) that it has lost much of its panache as an expletive. In any case, there is no scriptural proscription against use of the words "shit" and "fuck", in and of themselves, as expletives. UninvitedCompany 19:43, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Also, it is good Wikipedia ettiquite to sign your posts on talk pages. Moncrief 19:22, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

I know. I forgot. UninvitedCompany 19:43, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Curse isn't generally used to mean profanities outside the USA (in the UK they're just "swear words"), and this talk page has confused me as to whether curse is being used to mean profanities or malevolent appeals to supernatural beings... --Steinsky 20:11, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

You're not the only one who is confused. Moncrief 20:27, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

I tried to clarify. The utterance "God damn it," in particular, is among the more common phrases resulting in a "loss of religion." Also, restored America rather than USA, since diction and values are common in English speaking rural areas in Canada and the USA.