Reader Ginny, who plays a most excellent Fair Finley -- remember her motel photo shoot with her husband Chris? -- dropped me a line over the holidays. Ginny is a teacher, and she decided that whenever she's in class and gets frustrated, she's going to "use an old-timey expression."
"So far my kids have heard a lot of "Oh my stars!" and "Heavens to Betsy." I was wonder if you (or your readers!) had any good ideas for me! :)
Might you, dear readers? This seems like the perfect place to ask. The Wilfair series is pretty much devoid of curl-the-toes cussing, although there are a few "damns" and "craps" along the way. The world, with all of these young people who deal with the public at their family businesses, is very much about politeness, even if privately Fair and Monty and Gomery and Sutton don't feel so polite and are prone to letting their frustrations bubble.
Well, Sutton Von Hunt might be a more lavish cusser. That's a kittens ice cream sunshine fact.
I'm not against swearing, though perhaps public cuss-a-thons, when people out of earshot of your group can hear. A little courtesy is always nice in this arena. (But please don't be within earshot when I grab a hot pot handle or stub my foot.)
I did waver on putting "butt" in the title of the mastodon post, below. I'm not a butt sayer, actually -- bum's my go-to word. But "buttly" is said in one of the books -- "Redwoodian"? -- and it doesn't seem too coarse. Also, have you seen "Frozen"? Yeah, Olaf the Snowman refers to his butt going missing several times, and the kids in the theatre looooved those lines. Big laughs.
Ginny, we'll try and come up with a few sassy-but-not-too-shocking sayings. Me? I've taken to saying "why as I live and breathe!" in the last few months, at practically any revelation. But you have to fan your fingers at your face as you say it, or else the impact is lost. Just my two cents!
Glad I don't have to put my two cents in the Swear Jar, though...
