Pardon My French (Or: The Day I Discovered I am Black)

Student: What makes a cuss word a cuss word?

Me: I think it depends a lot on the culture. Because pretty much every bad word has an actual definition when used in its proper context. And what is a bad word in one culture might not be in another culture. It’s about our perception of the word. And probably also how we use the word.

Student: That makes sense. But what about words that mean the same thing? Why are some curse words and others aren’t? Like how crap and s--- both mean poop, but crap isn’t a bad word, only s--- is.

Me: Not in Holland.

Student: The only words I think are really cuss words are the F word and the N word.

Me: Why those two over any of the others?

Student: Well, the F word is actually talking about sex, and you don’t want to be talking about sex in front of other people because that’s awkward. And the N word is a mean word for black people that only black people can use, which is why I can’t say it but you can.