The Fudge

Evie Althkefati

English 1121 O450

2/25/2022

 

A word that a community I belong to uses mostly is the word fudge. Many think that they know the meaning of the word fudge but they do not. Under official circumstances, fudge is a word used to describe a type of candy that almost resembles chocolate. However, for the community that I belong to, it is a word used as a less offensive way of expressing the emotions one has. For example, we use the phrase “what the fudge” instead of “what the f**k” because the former is less offensive. Also, we may use the statement “the fudge” or only use the word “fudge” when expressing ourselves. After describing the community I belong to, the paper shows how the word fudge is used to hide offense as an alternative to the more offensive word that would have heads turning when used under several circumstances.

The community I belong to is that of youths who wish to express themselves but also want to remain cautious of what they say. The generation I live in is considered to have the highest level of exposure to knowledge at the moment. I am certain that in 200 years to come, that generation of youths will be 200 years more knowledgeable than we are at the moment. Therefore, the point to note is that we are knowledgeable because there is knowledge at our disposal, and we are not to blame for that. However, exposure to knowledge comes at a cost. Whereas we have become more educated from the knowledge we have, it has equally brought harm to us. As a friend of mine told me once while we were teenagers, there was nothing his parents could tell him about any topic that he did not already know.

Therefore, as a generation, we have absorbed both educational and destructive knowledge, and they all have positive and negative consequences in our lives. The youth community I belong to is the one that is aware of this fact, and tries its best to avoid destructive knowledge, whether in learning it or passing it to other people who are also being exposed to knowledge. For that reason, we try our best to avoid words that can be considered offensive. For the case where other youths or adults use the word b**ch, we use the word chick, and in the case where others use f**k, we use the word fudge. Fudge is only understandable by our community, unless it is used in contexts where individuals easily relate with them or when a member of our community has to explain the word to someone else. It is the same example with the word fuku used by Diaz. 

Fuku is a new word that remains unknown to the reader, and one only understands it after Diaz explains what the word means. As he describes, it is a curse of doom (Díaz, 2007). All through the text, where the curse comes from, and how it affected individuals who lived before. Similarly, it is difficult for others outside the community I am in to know what the expression fudge means when they hear the word. At first, they always think that it means the candy that almost resembles chocolate, and they often misplace the word in accordance to the context being used. After an individual has had the word explained to them, it is common for them to nod their head in silence, and one is never certain what they are thinking. For those that hear the statement “what the fudge,” they always join the dots and make their conclusions about the subject.

The history of using the word fudge remains unclear. It cannot be pointed out that the community I belong to started using the word at a specific point in history. Like several other slang words, it could have been formed from its use in different parts of the world. However, I am certain that the word is not as old as many other words in English are. An example of a case when such a word was used and the person next to me did not understand it was late last year when several friends of mine and I had gone to watch football. We could not all sit on the same row, so we distributed ourselves on the different seats. I sat next to an older lady that I found there. When one of the team members that we were supporting was tackled and had the ball taken away from him, one of my friends behind me shouted “fudge.” The lady next to me tapped me and asked whether the word spoken was a lucky word. I did not want to be disrupted from watching the game, so I nodded and assured her that it was. Moments later, she was shouting “fudge!” This proved that she did not find the word offensive.

The word fudge is used in the community I belong to, and it is a less offensive word used in the place of a more offensive word. Statements such as “the fudge” or “what the fudge” make individuals easily understand the context in which the word is used together with its meaning. The community I belong to that commonly uses the word is that of youths who want to express themselves but they are also cautious of their language. Hence, we use terms that others will not find offensive. There are two conditions in which it becomes possible for someone who is not of our community to understand what the word means. The first is the context in which it is used. For example, when a member of our community says “what the fudge,” it becomes easier for an outsider to know because it is a phrase they can easily relate to. The other case is when a member of our community explains to them what the word means. Else, they cannot understand it. An example is an encounter I had with an older woman late last year when watching football, and she thought that the word is used to bring about luck. She did not find it offensive. Reference

Díaz, J., (2007). The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao. New York: