CliqueClack Cagematch: Frik vs. Frak

polyGeek

The word “fuck” is one of the strongest in the English language. Not only does it describe the act of love making or passion between two people, but it is also used in anger, frustration, disappointment and amazement. It can be  as utilized as a verb, a noun and an adjective. In general, “fuck” is an incredibly versatile four-letter word.

Except in non-pay television — for it is there that the word is persona non grata. Sure, cable networks such as AMC, TNT and FX air programs that feature many of the other seven words you could never say on television. However, because of the bad rap “fuck” has gotten, they have decided against using it. Because of this limitation, show creators and writers have had to come up with some variants of the word. In the past, words like “Shazzbat!” (Mork & Mindy) and “frell” (Farscape) were used as substitutions. Most recently, two more replacements have appeared that are very similar to the real-life swear word: “frik” and “frak.”

Being not only television lovers but occasional linguists here at CliqueClack, we decided to compare these two fake swear words and determine which one equally fares with “fuck” in terms of use and versatility. So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the frakkin’ way…

Origins: The word “frak” is the older of the two replacements. Its origins come from the original version of Battlestar Galactica from the 1970s. It was forgotten somewhat until the new version of BSG appeared on the SciFi Channel. The term “frik” comes from the comedy Scrubs and is usually spoken by Dr. Elliott Reid — a woman who has problems swearing or using the proper words for private parts.

Phonetics: “Frak” starts out soft and ends with a hard ‘K’ sound: frAK. On the other hand, “frik” starts out strong and ends in a soft ‘k': FRik. “Frak” tends to be more drawn out when spoken, making it feel like a multi-syllabic word. “Frik,” when spoken in a particularly angry tone, can sound almost like a verbal nervous twitch than a word.

Versatility: Like “fuck,” the word “frak” can mean any number of things. It can be used during times of passion (“I want to frak you! Frak you good!”), times of anger (“Frak you! I am not a Cylon!”), as a derogatory statement (“Look at that frakhead screwing around in his Viper”) and as a form of description (“This hyperdrive is no frakkin’ good”). “Frik” is not as versatile. Fact is, the term is only used in anger, mostly by Dr. Reid, and is either used as a declarative (“Frik!”) or an adjective (“Frikkin’ idiot!”). Sometimes two versions of “frik” can be used one after another (“Frikkin’ frick!”).

Use of the word on the show: On Battlestar Galactica, the word “frak” is used somewhat. Okay, more than somewhat; think every other word. Everyone from President Roslin down to the lowest scut worker uses the term as part of ordinary language. Some say that the use of ‘frak’ is overdone on the show and is just being used by the writers to show how stupid it is to use a fake swear word rather than the real one. On Scrubs, ‘frik’ is seemingly used only by Elliott and only sparingly. Though, as mentioned under the Versatility category, a number of “friks” can be combined into one sentence.

Use of the word in the real world: Hands down, “frak” is the term used more in the real world than “frik.” Actually, “frak” has taken the place of the word “fuck” in many people’s vocabularies. Does it mean that the original swear word is losing interest with some of the population? Most likely not, especially from what I heard on the streets of New York City not too long ago. “Frik” is used occasionally (mostly by me); however, as mentioned under Versatility, it doesn’t have the same range as “frak” does.

Cagematch winner: Taking all categories into consideration, “frak” is the clear winner of this CliqueClack Cagematch. Not only does it provide the versatility that “fuck” does in the normal world, but it is also a term that is bleeding into normal day-to-day conversations. What say you, fine readers? Is “frak” the winner or do you think “frik” was just given the bum’s rush. Let us know.

Clacked by Richard Keller
on Oct 23, 2008 @ 16:00 EST5EDT