>The answer must lie purely in social context. The word is a shibboleth - a marker of distinction between one group and another. If one uses the word one is either in a very peculiar circumstance (of great stress or inebriation) or one comes from a group whose use of the word signifies some failing of mind in them (misogyny, lack of education, lack of aesthetic sensitivity, lack of social skills - you take your pick, mix'n'match).
Perhaps it is deep in our psyche that warning signals are set up by different types of behaviour. If someone behaves in an agressive way then we decide between fight and flight. Is it some kind of throwback that some of us have such a strong, almost physical, reaction to someone using a word in a non-agressive, even when it has virtually no contextual meaning?
When people use the word as merely an intensifier, instead of "very" as in "we had a f-in' good time" all they are saying to the world is "look at me, I'm breaking the rules"? In some places there is a strong reaction to that, in others, it is barely noticed.
I get a strong impression from the people who have posted that there is big difference in sensitivity to such language between the USA and Britain/New Zealand/Australia, especially amongst younger people. I'm still left wondering why.
