Dropping F-bombs at work is therapeutic
I love this story:
"New research from the British University of East Anglia suggests that dropping a few choice curse words at work might be a good way to let off steam. The researchers say swearing can be an effective way to reduce anxiety and increase social solidarity, and they suggest executives take note.'For some people, the use of profanity is a way to create collegiality,' Yehuda Baruch, professor of management at the institution's Norwich Business School and one of the directors of the study, told ABC News. 'For others, it's a way to relieve stress.'
'This is a message to managers,' Baruch continued. 'When people feel better, the group feels better. It's a win-win situation.'"
Granted, nobody needs to tell a journalist to go ahead and swear to let off steam. But the results of the study may have also to do with the fact that British swear words are so much more fun...
I don't know if British swear words are "so much more fun" as Bridget says, but, years ago, I was working in Chicago at the Ambassador East and West and I was sweping the office of the maitre d' (a Frenchmen) and he had just finished a polite argument with a customer. After the door closed a very soft c--k s----r was uttered by the maitre d'. At the time I was learning english and the way he pronounced those two words stuck to my brain. You see, Bridget, try to pronounce "sucker" with the accent and the "e", like "suckèr" and it becomes so elegant, so...european. For years, I used to pronounced it like that, and people laughed.