Recently I have heard kids as young as 6 using the word "frickin'" all the time. Somehow I can't accept that in the same way that I accept "darn" or "gosh," and I think it inappropriate for kids to use.

Do you hear the word "frickin'" as much as I do? What are your thoughts on the word?

Although the word frickin' has been around for a while, I mostly associate it with Austin Powers movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pozlp_wnkRk

Do you think they might have led to a popularisation of the term?

It's close to another (almost) euphemism friggin', although the verb frig means 'to masturbate'.

So frigate has nothing to do with naval vessels?

quote:

It's close to another (almost) euphemism friggin', although the verb frig means 'to masturbate'.

Or freakin'

I have always considered all 3, frickin', friggin', or freakin' to mean "fuckin'." Maybe that's the problem? Others may not?

I don't think there can be much doubt that "freaking" and "frickin'" are stand-ins for "fucking". And presumably, "frigging" can be, if you perceive/use it that way. In British English we also have "flaming" (as in "flamin' 'ell") which I assume is aanother f-word euphemism.

Oddly (?) one sometimes hears the word "fudge" doing the duty of the word "fuck", yet nobody ever seems to say "fudging" (not while I've been listening anyway.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Alphabet Soup,

Feck is also sometimes used in the UK and more often in the Irish Republic as an expletive, with the general meaning of "fuck". As mentioned on the Wikipedia page, The TV series Father Ted (1995-1998, and still often repeated) helped to spread it to the UK; before then, it was almost unknown outside the Irish community.