Use of Frigging in OOTS

[Seward]

Can I get some help compiling a list of all strips where "frigging" is used. I'm curious as to just how long Rich has been waiting for this reveal.

I'm hoping that it's only used by Northern people, and hopefully in context of annoying rules or authority figures that Frigg could be at least vaguely blamed for.

Here's the first appearance to start it off, after reading the first 22 strips. Sadly I need to cook breakfast now.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0022.html

[Jasdoif]

Be sure to thank TheWombatOfDoom for The Transcription of the Stick thread. Here's the non-recent instances of comics with "friggin'" I've found:


022 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0022.html)
040 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0040.html)
200 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0200.html)
229 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0229.html)
267 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0267.html)
268 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0268.html)
323 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0323.html)
325 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0325.html)
329 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0329.html)
379 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0379.html)
432 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0432.html)
459 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0459.html)
499 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0499.html)
543 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0543.html)
615 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0615.html)
621 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0621.html)
645 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0645.html)
680 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0680.html)
895 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0895.html)

[Seward]

wow, thanks.

The idea holds up pretty well, even if it's unintentional. It's just the Order of the Stick, Xykon and Nale who use the expression, Nale's been in Northern lands long enough to pick it up. (Ok, Celia used it too but only because she was parroting Haley's "Betraying your principles all over the Frigging place" line back at her. Also Celia is a Northern society paraelemental anyway.)

It is also most often used to refer to rules that people don't like, game or otherwise, but sometimes also just used for emphasis, the way "Goddamn" is used.

[KorvinStarmast]

wow, thanks.

The idea holds up pretty well, even if it's unintentional. It's just the Order of the Stick, Xykon and Nale who use the expression, Nale's been in Northern lands long enough to pick it up. (Ok, Celia used it too but only because she was parroting Haley's "Betraying your principles all over the Frigging place" line back at her. Also Celia is a Northern society paraelemental anyway.)

It is also most often used to refer to rules that people don't like, game or otherwise, but sometimes also just used for emphasis, the way "Goddamn" is used.
The standard meaning of frigging has been superseded by the "bathing the orangutang," so that frigging/friggin' is now consigned to an adjective with pejorative connotations.

For reference on proper usage of the term frigging, I recommend this song by Oscar Brand (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsOQq09g4vQ)...

(somewhat bawdy, but not as rough as when a rugby club sings it)

See also this track from Bawdy Sea Shanties (http://www.allmusic.com/song/theres-nothing-else-to-do-aka-friggin-in-the-riggin-mt0027728029)(appropriate tunage for the Mechane, is it not?)

A NSFW rendering from Loudon Wainwright III (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHEX9EpIL7o)... for those with some privacy.

[Euclidodese]

"Frigging over-analysis of jokes..."

Yeah... No. Just, just no.
In theory it means female masturbation, but really it's just a random, vaguely non-offensive stand in word for da f-bomb.
I highly doubt Rich decided which safe-for-work 'Verb off you adjective nounverbers!' words each of his characters would use in order to set up a minor throw-away joke...
I mean, there's intricately planning ahead like the giant does so geniusly... And there's storing your turds in jars.

[Bulldog Psion]

Yeah, I'm going to have to say this is "overanalysis to the point of ruining the joke." Sorry.

[Rift_Wolf]

Also Celia is a Northern society paraelemental anyway.

How did you figure that out? She's an outsider, with no strong ties to any particular human society (she was first seen in a Northern dungeon, sure, but then she appeared in a Southern Court and again in a Southern city.)

[Yendor]

Yeah, I'm going to have to say this is "overanalysis to the point of ruining the joke." Sorry.

Doesn't that cover, like, sixty percent of this forum?

[Psyren]

Doesn't that cover, like, sixty percent of this forum?

And 90% of this subforum.

[Seward]

"Frigging over-analysis of jokes..."

Yeah... No. Just, just no.
In theory it means female masturbation, but really it's just a random, vaguely non-offensive stand in word for da f-bomb.
I highly doubt Rich decided which safe-for-work 'Verb off you adjective nounverbers!' words each of his characters would use in order to set up a minor throw-away joke...
I mean, there's intricately planning ahead like the giant does so geniusly... And there's storing your turds in jars.

And yet, with two books of Southern and Western NPCs, nobody uses the term that is not Northern, aside from Nale, who spent a fair amount of time in the North and possibly Celia in an ironic way because Haley used it.

Just saying. I always assumed that "Frig" was the "Frack" of OOTS, but he's had Thor in there since about strip 4, and didn't use Frigging until strip 22. So while it seems far-fetched, I don't see evidence against this. Sorry if some of you think this spoils the joke, to me it makes it funnier, even if he didn't think of it until this strip.

[littlebum2002]

This thread has taught me more about the term "frigging" then I ever thought existed.

https://media.giphy.com/media/Y2nbrJyAR6RiM/giphy-facebook_s.jpg

[AyuVince]

As for the use of fridging in OOTS, that's an entirely different matter.

[Onyavar]

And this particular joke poses yet another problem for the translation thread(s)...

[Nimrod's Son]

I always assumed that "Frig" was the "Frack" of OOTS
"Frack" is a made-up swearword for the Battlestar Galactica universe, and like Red Dwarf's "smeg" it sounds close enough to being derived from terms that could be considered offensive in real life. "Frig" or "frigging" are things that real people say in the real world, and although the actual meaning is not exactly PG-13, it's still become like a euphemism for the "real" F-word that can be said in most social situations without raising an eyebrow.

I expect he's had the intention of using Frigg the Goddess in the story for some time now, but I doubt he's had this joke planned for long all the same - "frigging" is just a word he happens to have used a lot because he still wants the PG-13 rating for the comic. Personally I think it's more likely to be a last minute addition thrown in because of all the fan complaining about the Godsmoot's arcane rules than a long-planned payoff to multiple vague references.

[NerdyKris]

Yeah, "frigging" is an extremely common variation on the slang term for fornication, and is quite often used both in media and real life as a moderate exclamation to avoid swearing. Like "heck" and "crud".

Maybe people not from America aren't familiar with it, but it's not an obscure word here at all. It's not any indication of long term planning.

[georgie_leech]

'Verb off you adjective nounverbers!'

I have nothing interesting to add, just chiming in to say this is now my favourite SFW curse now.

[Emanick]

Yeah, I'm going to have to say this is "overanalysis to the point of ruining the joke." Sorry.

On the contrary. There's taking it too far, and there's taking it way too far, a la "Hot Rod." The former is lame. The latter actually enhances the joke.

[Rift_Wolf]

"Frack" is a made-up swearword for the Battlestar Galactica universe, and like Red Dwarf's "smeg" it sounds close enough to being derived from terms that could be considered offensive in real life.

Smeg is a genuine swear. Don't look up what it means though.

[Onyavar]

Yeah, "frigging" is an extremely common variation on the slang term for fornication, and is quite often used both in media and real life as a moderate exclamation to avoid swearing. Like "heck" and "crud".

Maybe people not from America aren't familiar with it, but it's not an obscure word here at all. It's not any indication of long term planning.

Not from America, but anyone who reads just a little bit of American literature soon learns how these terms replace the forbidden swearwords. They are so liberally used...


Smeg is a genuine swear. Don't look up what it means though.

Ew, people swear with that term? That's not even obscene, it's sick, even if it's "just" in a fantasy universe. (You don't need to look it up, there IS only that single word for it, and it's probably known to half the world population.)

[Murk]

Well, that is interesting.
I always assumed it was a form of "freaking", since I've heard that word being used in much the same context (something that is a little unbelievable, shocking, disgusting, etc.).

[Rift_Wolf]

Not from America, but anyone who reads just a little bit of American literature soon learns how these terms replace the forbidden swearwords. They are so liberally used...



Ew, people swear with that term? That's not even obscene, it's sick, even if it's "just" in a fantasy universe. (You don't need to look it up, there IS only that single word for it, and it's probably known to half the world population.)

There's videos of Red Dwarf panels where someone asks 'what does smeg mean?' which is followed by cast members crawling away in embarrassment. It's a very Scouse swear; probably something Craig Charles adlibbed then they started putting it in scripts.

[littlebum2002]

Apparently there's an Italian appliance company with the rather unfortunate name of "Smeg"

[Rift_Wolf]

Apparently there's an Italian appliance company with the rather unfortunate name of "Smeg"

I hear they have to rebrand in the UK. They sell appliances here under the Crotchfungus label.

[Onyavar]

Well, that is interesting.
I always assumed it was a form of "freaking", since I've heard that word being used in much the same context (something that is a little unbelievable, shocking, disgusting, etc.).

I believe that freaking is also just used as a replacement.

Just like "what a piece of shame." etc.

[KorvinStarmast]

I believe that freaking is also just used as a replacement.

Just like "what a piece of shame." etc.
A re-skinning of the actual words intended.

[Nimrod's Son]

Smeg is a genuine swear. Don't look up what it means though.
I already know what it means; it's a diminutive of "smegma". It's rarely used as a swear-word outside of the Red Dwarf universe and those who've been affected by it though - despite apparently being used in some punk circles in the decade before RD first aired, the show's creators were unaware of this and insist it was a purely made-up word that fitted the desired four letters.

[littlebum2002]

I already know what it means; it's a diminutive of "smegma". It's not used as a swear-word outside of the Red Dwarf universe and those who've been affected by it though.

The fact that "smeg" is short for "smegma" isn't really the issue here, it's the definition of "smegma" that's the gross part

[Nimrod's Son]

The fact that "smeg" is short for "smegma" isn't really the issue here, it's the definition of "smegma" that's the gross part
In the Red Dwarf universe, smeg isn't short for smegma. It's a standalone, multipurpose four letter word.


Maybe people not from America aren't familiar with it, but it's not an obscure word here at all. It's not any indication of long term planning.
It's plenty common in the UK for sure, and not unheard of in most of the Commonwealth countries. I'm genuinely surprised to hear people thought it was an OotS-specific swearword.

[Darth Paul]

And even though the original Battlestar Galactica spelled their word "Frack", the reimagined series went with "Frak" (it's in the closed-captions), thus making it their version of "frig". In the sense of "frak off, you frakking frak."

By the way, this is a frigging great thread, by Frigg.

Although at first, from the title, I too thought it was about Elan and Haley's "washing the orangutan".

[woweedd]

Yeah, frigging is a fairly common slang-term on the Western side of the Atlantic, as others have said before, basically a PG-13 version of the Big Fornication. What most likely happened is that Rich inserted the word into the dialogue again, realized that there was a good pun in there and decided to make that joke. As for only Northen characters using it, probably just a coincidence.

[rodneyAnonymous]

By the way, the phrase that describes versions of profanity altered that way (eg frig, shoot, darn) is "minced oath".

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: Thread closed before it becomes even more of a discussion of profanities and forum-inappropriate terms.