Swearing as a Response to Pain: Assessing Effects of Novel Swear Words

sega_sai | 67 points

For the past few years I've made a conscious effort to not use swear words like "fucking" and "shit" casually. I feel like if they're overused they lose their power, to yourself and to others around you. Everyone of us knows that guy or girl that never normally swears, so then when they do you know it's serious.

somedude895 | 5 hours ago

As a kid, I vaguely remember appropriating some that I thought were from Tin Tin/Captain Haddock, but when I look in the list[1], I don't recognize my favorites :-(.

[1] https://tintin.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Captain_Haddock%27s_C...

[edit] holy mackerel, you odd-toed ungulate, I found some!

xarope | 4 hours ago
[deleted]
| 2 hours ago

At school my German teacher loved to teach us the longest swear word in German (or so he claimed). He would illustrate it by pretending he hit his thumb with a hammer, and then he would let out this wonderful long stream of invective, but which is one word in German. He would then translate it all for us.

No idea if it helps with hitting your thumb with a hammer, but memorable teaching!

MattPalmer1086 | 15 hours ago

Many years ago, my daughter (maybe six at the time), lost something semi-important to her, I don't recall what. I think it might have been her username / pictorial password card for her school network account. Anyway, we were looking for it, and she said "Dad, dad, I don't know where it is, I feel like I'm going to say a bad word".

I, having just read an article like this, said "That's ok, sometimes saying a bad word can help you process your emotions and feel less stressed. Do you want to go down to the basement where nobody can hear you, and say the bad word?"

"Yes". She goes down the stairs, I close the door, and she yells at the top of her lungs: "I can't fucking find it!". I managed not to laugh, she comes back up, "Do you feel better?" "Yes." Great moments in parenting. :-) (We did eventually find whatever it was.)

techdmn | 14 hours ago

So this is like a more rigorously version of Mythbusters' No Pain, No Gain test then.

phantomathkg | 7 hours ago

When my kids were younger I tried to to replace my swearing by saying "sugarplum fairies". It was fairly successful in becoming a natural replacement. However, the other day I kicked my toe really badly and instinctively yelled "sugarplum FUCKING fairies" and my kids (now early teen) found it extremely funny.

carpo | 11 hours ago

I spent two years of high school learning Russian. I can't remember much of it, except the section of the alphabet that sounds like swearing: р, с, т, у, ф, х (pronounced, approximately, and with feeling: "er ess teh, oo eff HAH").

dtgriscom | 10 hours ago

There is also an impact of swear words on pleasure. Also on strength and performance - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S14690...

anoncow | 13 hours ago

This was the first paper I read almost to completion. What a fascinating read. It's cool to see the hypotheses be refuted through experimentation. TL;DR: twizpipe and fouch don't help with pain, while "fuck" does.

lxe | 6 hours ago

Can I swear in pain enough to Clockwork Orange myself? Could prove cheaper than the fucking swear jarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

goopypoop | 12 hours ago

I read once that there is a common structure to swear words. If you think about it, fuck, cunt, shit, crap - they all have kiiind of a similar vocal feeling.

I wonder if different fake swear words may have had a different outcome.

kulahan | 10 hours ago

Anecdotally I find swearing makes it worse. Now I just saw "ow!" or "that hurt!" Which honestly feels like it synchronizes my brain past the insult and I can move on much faster past it.

timewizard | 15 hours ago

You'll sing a different tune when you're getting fouched in the twizpipe.

Finnucane | 15 hours ago

Twizpipe

codeulike | 15 hours ago

See also this wonderful video with Stephen Fry and Brian Blessed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2eWDmUl4_Y

1317 | 7 hours ago

Anecdotally, I find swearing in German and Italian satisfying and people around usually don't understand, so no issues there.

slig | 15 hours ago

"Glenfarclas!" I frequently exclaim to the bewilderment of my child.

slowmovintarget | 15 hours ago

The origin of language

mjanx123 | 15 hours ago

"Theres a fucking goat outside."

"No, it's just 'a goat'."

"No! It's a fucking goat!"

throwaheyy | 14 hours ago

What the jiggins!

adammarples | 12 hours ago

(2020)

layer8 | 15 hours ago