Expletives

I grew up in an era when ejaculation was a part of speech. Some such ejaculations (e.g. "balderdash!;" "darn!;") were acceptable in polite society. Other words and phrases were always unacceptable in the presence of women or children. They were known as expletives and were often deleted before printing (as in the Nixon tapes).

I served among sailors for three decades, attaining familiarity with expletives, most commonly beginning with "f." I never found it necessary to use them, believing they convey a poverty of vocabulary and lack of imagination.

Nor, I found, was such usage necessary to demonstrate manliness or authority. I commanded a warship without ever using an expletive beginning with "f." We got things done just fine.

For a literary caution against the use of expletives, I recommend "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" by Edgar Allen Poe.