Strangest article ever in the Irish Independent

Scruff

Just came across this article in todays Ind. definitely the strangest, yet informative article, that ive seen in the paper.

BACK TO THE ROOTS ...


F**K: It is not an acronym of 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge' accompanying a story about how medieval prisoners were forced to wear this word on their clothing. However the word has been taboo for most of its existence, and early appearances in print are rare. Fuccant is the pseudo-Latin form of the word, which appeared in a poem that predates 1500.

****: This is a very old word, which comes from the Old English word scitan. However, the verb to **** dates from the Middle English period and became a noun in the 16th century. Last year the grossly inaccurate acronym Ship High In Transit appeared on the internet, citing something to do with barges that carried manure.

CRAP: The word, meaning excrement, is derived from Old French via a dose of Middle English ie. crappe which signified the grain that was trodden underfoot in a barn. It originally comes from the Latin crappa. Contrary to popular myth, Thomas Crapper, who invented the ball device used to control the amount of water used in a toilet, did not conveniently lend his name to the verb.

looks like the editor noticed an empty square on the paper and when "Bugger what can we put in here?"

oeNeo

I thought it came from the German word "frichen", which means to strike? Ah well, that's Monty Python for you.


the many uses of the word fuck.mp3

Giblet

It's also meant to mean Fornication Under Consent of King!

Victor

Originally posted by Scruff
F**K: It is not an acronym of 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge' accompanying a story about how medieval prisoners were forced to wear this word on their clothing.

Unlikely in an era when the age of consent was about 12.

Thorbar

I reckon they were more concerned about who a person was married to then their age back in those days.

Ruaidhri

Originally posted by Giblet
It's also meant to mean Fornication Under Consent of King!

i believe you are right.
it refered to when a husband/wife had to **** someone else by order of the king.

Gordon

Interesting, I love finding the roots of words, mind you I guess the roots go back even further than when you find the end.

OK is another one - some think it could stem from "Ola Kala" from Greek which means Everything is fine.