Using curse words equals stupidity?

Sometimes it’s hard to not call a no-good motherfucker by anything other than his rightful name.

I don’t think it makes you stupid, but I do think it can undermine your argument because you appear to be using profanity to strengthen your point rather than logic.

Hmm, well they certainly don’t help you sound intelligent.

Curse words have just become filler without any meaning.

I don’t use curse words. I don’t see the point.

When used sparingly and at appropriate times they are fine.

For example, if it is not overused, calling “bullshit” is super effective, especially if you don’t really swear at all besides that.

To me, someone who supplements their ideas with curses just sounds dumb. I’m thinking specifically of the “curse content: 50%+” portion of the population. It’s probably for the same reason @lefteh mentioned; a lack of logic, evidence, or interesting insight cannot be replaced with profanity. When it accounts for a significant portion of what you’re saying, it’s akin to using “like” “so yeah…” “I don’t know” “you know?” as filler, and only sightly less annoying.

I tend to avoid them for the most part because high frequency lessens the emphasis when you actually want them to pack a punch.

To use “fuckin’” as an adjective for every noun in your statement, yeah, stupidity.
But if you use “fuckin” to drive your point home with some enthusiasm, no, not stupidity.

I don’t think so, why? Because I am one of those people that uses them.
And I do have something to say, but it’s fun calling them douchebags and watching their eyes pop out.
I have gotten too mouthy at times, I tried to stop saying curse words before, but I couldn’t do it.
Edit: I mostly use them when I get angry.

I think a well executed curse word placed in conjunction with a few other good words is effective.
Curse words show emotion a little better than most. Aside from that what sounds better?
That guy is one heck of a crappy boyfriend.
That guy is one hell of a shitty douchebag.
I also think there is an appropriate time and place for these words. You’re not going to walk in to a meeting with a client, shake hands and then say something like…whew! It was fucking hot out lastnight huh? Did you see the game? The ref was a real jackass, prick.

I don’t see the point in it… it may not make you look “stupid” but definitely makes you look out of control and lessens your effectiveness in the argument. And it definitely impacts the way some people view your maturity level.

I cuss quite a lot myself, and I’m generally a rather eloquent person.
It’s not that I lack the ability to use other words. It’s that curse words are so much more satisfying.

Maybe it’s not that curse words make you look stupid per se.

Maybe they are just the decorative cherub-illustrations gilding other, glaring stupidity-lilies in the person’s speech, and so we tend to associate over-use with stupidity.

(I think) Profanity makes people look immature, unsophisticated and unfunny. If you do use it excessively, then not only I consider you stupid, but I consider you as a sub-human being. I might “curse”, but never the hard words like sh*t or f*ck.

Cursing is a bit of a lowbrow thing as you wouldn’t talk like a sailor at a nice dinner but it isn’t indicative of low intelligence.

@PretentiousArtist
Cool story, bro.

At the same time, I’m also really partial to new, invented, or really ridiculous curses among friends.

i.e. “Whores and Cockmeat! as a rare interjection. [credited to @aphilotus]

Nay thou!
Oh yeah, and it’s trendy, too

i dont think of people who swear as stupid. sometimes things need to be emphasized by using a swear word. like if you ran into a wolverine in the wild and it almost ate you, i would not say to someone “it was a scary experience” i would probably say “it was fucking terrifying!!!!!!”

I am more apt to trust a person who curses than one who does not.
People who do not curse tend to be self-rightous and a little more pretentious than those that do.

In addition, I happen to know at least one online community the members of which are generally intelligent people who are sufficiently fed up with societal norms to make a habit of being offensive on purpose. You’ll occasionally find things like political musings or a passionate defence of quantum physics on there, with four letter words in every other sentence.

Saying that those who curse are somehow less than is just another form a of supeiority.

Fuck yeah, I cuss. And I do it when it isn’t even warranted. I’ll just take my high IQ and 2 college degrees and sit at the table with the uneducated, the immature and the worthless. At least they can fuckin’ have a good time and don’t judge others because a bit of “classless” language. Blech!

Hell no!

For some reason they seem to be the first words I learn when studying a new language, and also, together with milk, car, and what way etc. to be the most useful further down the road. Even though I don’t use bad language in my mother tongue, they are often more powerful when other words are missing from my foreign vocabulary, and thus enables be to express more with less. I may be stupid, but this is not why. Does that make sense?

@tinyfaery I don’t automatically write people off as dumb (and hope others feel similarly,) but I can’t help thinking they sound dumb. And I avoid it not to be superior, but to preserve impact in my personal use

To answer my own question I don’t correlate the amount of curse words a person uses in everyday life to their intelligence. As naturally judgmental as I am, I never judged a person for using profanity, even when I didn’t use it. There is an exception. Those who say G**damn are automatically labeled as disrespectful. Especially if they say it around me when I have asked them not to. I use every curse word in the book, but not that one.

I curse like a sailor in my real life. The important bit is to know your audience.

@PretentiousArtist: Wow. Judge much?

I curse all the damn time. And most guys I know think it’s a turn on, some don’t but it’s whatever. I can turn it off for people when it’s not welcome. I’m not married to it or anything.

But I absolutely do not think cursing in moderation makes you appear less intelligent than anyone else. A word is a word is a word, get the fuck over it.

I curse far too casually. I don’t even realize it half the time. This one kid said to me yesterday, “Whoa, no need to curse,” and I was like “I didn’t curse!”.. then everyone else goes, “yes you did.” Haha. Yeah, it’s pretty bad. And definitely not lady-like or attractive. I don’t know why I do it, I started using curse words in 3rd grade and I guess it only built since then. I feel like they add effectiveness to whatever you’re saying (i.e., Is that a fucking joke?...What the fuck is that?...Fuck this, etc.)

I’m with @augustlan on this. It is imperative that you know how to turn it off when tone permits – let alone in professional situations.

What the fuck makes a word a “curse word?” The list is in constant flux, so profanity is not inherent in some part of a language—it’s more a matter of fashion. Zounds, the ignorant fucks will be wearing capri pants next!

Most of being an adult is learning appropriate behavior for certain situations. But at my work everyone, including the attorneys. cuss at work, at times. We can handle it, and think nothing of it, because we are all adults.

I’m also with @augustlan on this. I also agree with @The_Compassionate_Heretic that it can be lowbrow – and there are plenty of situations that call for that!

Work – of course not. Hanging around much younger family members – nope (though they’re smarties and I’m sure they are learning the appropriate audience part).

Friends, certain family (like my mom!)? Often if it happens to articulate what I intend.
The stupid part? When it doesn’t articulate anything.

I think curse words tend to be lazy, primitive and don’t communicate well. But they don’t directly indicate intelligence or stupidity.

@Zaku I think saying “Fuck off” articulates quite well.

Of course not. I know of a renowned ethicist named who has an excellent little book On Bullshit. It’s a very intelligent discussion, really short, and quite accessible to the lay person – check it out.

don’t think so, they’re words, fuck you works better sometimes.

@sccrowell has taken to exclaiming “fuck me” when she stumbles or makes an error. I, of course, try to always be accommodating, but hope to fucking hell she doesn’t say that outside our quaint little home. See ya….Gary/wtf

Obviously it’s difficult to make generalizations about someone’s intelligence level solely by whether or not they choose to use cuss words. But I definitely feel that if someone does this routinely, it’s definitely indicative of a general language laziness and lack of creativity. Anyone can throw a string of profanities together, but it takes a bit more thought and effort to express oneself in a unique way.

In defense of this point I will merely quote a few noteworthy phrases which have become cultural touchstones of our time and also rewarded their author with unparalleled success in his field and a boatload of money to boot.

“master of his domain”

” not that there’s anything wrong with that”

See what I mean? And the obvious question then becomes, would these rather unique turns of phrase have eve been created if someone was used to taking the easy way out.

I vividly remember Seinfeld speaking to this point in an interview when recalling how in the very beginning as an unknown standup comic he made the decision not to work blue even tho the majority of other comics did since it was a nightclub, anything goes kind of atmosphere.

The interesting part was his reasoning behind it. He wasn’t being snobbish toward others who made different choices. He said that he liked the challenge of finding a creative way to get his ideas across without resorting to the familiar shortcuts of well worn cuss phrases.

And way before his show became so successful, he already had a well known reputation for being a guy of laser like precision in phraseology. He had a way of expressing thoughts that was uniqely his own because he had from the beginning set the bar high for himself and challenged himself when he really wasn’t required to do so, strictly speaking.

He would repeatedly work on crafting a joke, switching words and phrases around repeatedly until he was satisfied that it perfectly and precisely said what he wanted to get across as humorously as possible.

He also went into a fair amount of detail about the episode in which ” not that there’s anything wrong with that” figured so prominently.

They had been kicking around the idea about how to fit his jokes about himself being frequently perceived as gay into an actual episode. For quite a long time it had been part of his stand up act but crafting an episode around those observations was tricky to pull of so that it was genuinely funny and yet not offensive. And finally that phrase popped into his head and he said he knew that one phrase could be repeated as often as necessary and it made everything all right and most of all, funny.

There are other notable turns of phrase than just the two I mentioned here. And this was a significant part of the show’s genius. His ways of expressing things were just so spot on. But they didn’t just come so easily. They were crafted with great care and skill.

Would that have necessarily happened had he not put himself in the habit of not resorting to the quick and easy cuss phrases so familiar? Isn’t it kind of like training oneself to use a particular set of muscles for bodybuilding or strength training. Except in this case they were creative language muscles. I rest my case.

No, I do not agree with that. You cannot determine intelligence based on the words people use. I use “bad words” when in casual situations quite frequently and we all know how smart I am. ;P

But seriously, it’s not a matter of intelligence. It can be a matter of rudeness as bad words are used to express anger quite frequently and they can give off the illusion than you’re angry when you’re not and people might take that the wrong way. Not to mention many of the words are sexual in nature and describing such things in non-casual situations can seem a little trashy. I have a friend that swears so much it seems like she’s angry all the time, but she’s really not—it’s just the way she talks, but you have to know her to know that and people meeting her for the first time might make bad assumptions.

Also, there is the whole matter of what we consider “bad words” changes all the time and words lose their power and gain power over time. It’s not a constant absolute matter.

I use them, but usually as descriptives or intensifiers. Sometimes they simply supply the appropriate cadence to a sentence. Of course I am also someone that will choose my words based on the phonetic impact of their syllable count.

fuck

Fuck II

Fuck it!

Carlin fuck

Not stupidity, exactly—more like poverty of imagination.

fuck off

@Zen Yes!! to the greatest word ever

Cursing a lot doesn’t necessarily indicate stupidity. It may, however, be associated with less education, or a smaller vocabulary. Cursing is used to emphasize ideas, so the more often it is used, the less effect it has. I think it is also used in a way that body language is used. It’s a kind of way of acting tough, even when it is only used for emphasis. It’s a threatening kind of thing.

You don’t have to be stupid to curse, but it seems to me that it helps to be strategic in your use of cursing, and that the less educated you are, the less effective your strategy will be. On the other hand, I don’t know if there have been any studies about this, but I do believe that there is an inverse relationship between amount of education and amount of cursing.

@daloon I agree, strategery is essential :)

I’ll say straight up that I am “educated” and have a “decent vocabulary” and still curse like a drunken sailor! and admittedly not so strategic about it at times

If every other word is from George Carlin’s famous Seven Dirty Words routine, then it might behoove a person to expand their vocabulary just a tad.

I agree with the majority—cursing doesn’t equal stupidity. However, it is best to use “those” words on occasion instead of all the time, to increase their efficacy.

People are always surprised when I pop out a “fuck” or “bullshit”. I tend to not use them until I get angry or pissed off enough. (And I never use them around family.)

If you think I’m stupid or have a small vocabulary because I have the perspicacity to select an appropriate curse word and interject it at the opportune moment (I use them more often in my writing or by myself, tbh), then that’s yet another justification for why I don’t want to be friends with you. (Sorry—bit pretentious, wasn’t that?)

More than stupid, it has the potential to make you look extremely immature and disrespectful, depending on your audience.
Day to day, I cuss like a sailor. To me, it’s all about how you use them and how much emphasis you put on them. They’ve become just words to me. Just as common as any other word. However, there are certain things that automatically are disrespectful, like ‘kike’ (is this a slur or a curse…dunno) and god dammit. I don’t believe in a god but that’s no reason to ‘damn’ someone elses. Also, I don’t use ‘cock’ or ‘pussy’ in certain contexts just because I’m not in the porn business and it’s kind of degrading to me.
I tried to stop cussing when I was younger because I saw the idiot kids around me cussing just to be cussing and I didn’t want to be like them. Then I started hanging around a different crowd and got comfortable again.

interesting question!

in my line of work, sometimes you have to cuss to gain compliance. the person you are affecting responds to that language as opposed to being politically correct. when he/she hears such words, for some reason it shocks them into understanding you mean business.

cussing works, but it also depends on the receiver. if you are not generally a person who uses foul language, you quickly learn that “meeting that person where they are” gets results.

in any other normal situation, however, cussing is not needed, say a debate or argument with spouse or significant other.

No. One of the most intelligent and vocabulary loving men I’ve ever met introduced me to the words, “cock juggling thundercunt” and I loved him all the more for it.

@hungryhungryhortence Sounds like my husband! I first fell a little bit in love with him when I heard him say (to a dog) “You smell like carrion.” Followed by (for the benefit of the other people in the room, but still directed at the dog), “That’s dead shit, to you.”

Also, the best curse phrase I’ve ever heard is, “You lascivious, dog-fucking whore.” I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty damned imaginative!

I don’t observe any correlation at all between level of intelligence and use of strong language. I know too many brilliant people whose vocabularies are about as broad and all-inclusive as a vocabulary can be to think it’s a sign of stupidity. However, it is certainly not a sign of intelligence either.

There is no connection between IQ and swearing. The connection is cultural and social and being just plain lazy. There are certain social loops that do not condone the swaggering, bad strong language filled with expletives.
There is a definite connection between swearing and being just plain lazy. Some people are just too lazy to do anything about improving their vocabulary. However, narcissism could factor in, some people just don’t give a damn!

@hungryhungryhortence you need to broaden you horizons. In the industrial community, I’ve heard that phrase word for word many times for over 40 years. Does he have a real imagination or is it just copies of others in his environment. If that is the scenario most people would consider plagiarism!

I don’t think cursing makes someone sound stupid. I think I’m intelligent and I curse on occasion and I do it only in specific circumstances:
1) To my husband “damn baby you look fucking hot!”
2) To get my point across to someone who is not truly hearing what I’m saying because they are trying to talk over me OR they keep interrupting “Can you shut the fuck up for FIVE minutes?!”
3) When I feel verbally or physically threatened ” Who the fuck do you think your talking to?”

I’m not sure how I came across this but Stephen Fry did a wonderful bit on cursing. It is of course NSFW.