Many years ago, around 1970, the great Spanish novelist
Camilo José ela wrote a "Diccionario secreto", which contains
a large number of words that Spanish dictionaries
(back then, especially) omitted. It's still in print and
still worth reading. In the excellent introduction, he
wonders why the *word* is such a big deal while the
thing
(or activity) is mundane and in many cases pleasurable. This
leads him directly to conclude that "there are no real
synonyms".
The sad thing about the overuse of fuck and similar terms is
that they lose their force. A good writer or speaker doesn't
want to squander or debilitate words.
I still haven't found an explanation of the "taboo word vs.
mundane thing" paradox or why euphemism is OK even though it
denotes the same thing. I recall reading some French
references on the subject, but my memory is vague and I
wasn't convinced back then.
Best regards,
MrT
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