Fecking Isaac Newton

Legend has it that a young Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree when he was bonked on the head by a falling apple, a 17th century “aha moment” that prompted him to come up with his law of gravity. When visiting some Irish friends recently one of our charming company let us know she had a similar experience in the very garden we were sitting in - her reaction was somewhat different, she said the first thing that came into her mind was "what the feck was that". I love how Irish ladies throw this word around but did you know that it is not in fact a replacement word for another expletive? The word apparently was slang for to steal or throw and has evolved into a somewhat milder swear word that I much prefer. I remember as a young (I was once) man using a nearby village as a replacement "Fenwick" would spill out my mouth when exasperated, now as a bit of an old fogey I find that I have allowed myself to slip up and use words that my father would be turning in his grave if he heard me!!

BTW the bench above has its own name...but that's another story!