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Once in a while I see phrases like "Think" is not a four-letter word and just about any word can be where "think" is.

I looked up the Wikipedia and looks like it says that "four-letter word" means slang words with mostly negative meaning.

What does "four-letter word" mean here? Does it mean something like "it's not that bad to think once in a while"?

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This should be obvious, but it is a pun. As other people have already explained, “four-letter word” in this context means something to avoid. At the same time, “think” consists of five letters, not four. –  Tsuyoshi Ito Nov 17 '10 at 18:36
[Insert four letter word here.] –  Mateen Ulhaq Mar 7 '11 at 7:52
a four-letter word is an unabbreviated form of f**k –  Pacerier Jul 29 '11 at 13:40

4 Answers 4

up vote 17 down vote accepted


The implication is here is that thinking and coming up with original solutions to problems is not to be frowned upon in the same way, and indeed is acceptable and encouraged.

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It simply means "[X] is not a swear word."

The implication is that you have been avoiding [X], and the speaker is assigning a (highly unlikely, as the speaker is well aware) cause to that avoidance. As such, it's a form of hyperbole.

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The phrase "four-letter word" is used to refer to one of the many offensive slang words in the English language containing four letters.

Usually the word fuck is intended or implied but there are many others, as listed by Wikipedia in your link. Again, from your Wikipedia link we learn that other languages have a similar term, sometimes referring to three or five letters depending on the language and its key swear words.

To say something is not a four-letter word is often used humorously or to provoke thought, since the author is suggesting that the something should not be considered especially bad. Often the something isn't commonly thought to be bad at all, hence the mild humour.

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It's funnier when the word is in fact spelled with four letters, though. Like, say, goto. –  SamB Feb 11 '11 at 5:48
@SamB XKCD –  Mateen Ulhaq Mar 7 '11 at 7:53
@SamB: Using goto in computer programming is considered bad practice (and in modern programming languages well hidden or not possible). So this would by many programmers actually fall into the category of four letter word also in the meaning of being a swear word... –  awe Jan 25 '13 at 9:14

There is a popular song by the band Cake called Friend Is a Four Letter Word on their album Fashion Nugget.


 But to me, coming from you,
"Friend" is a four-letter word,
"End" is the only part of the word
 That I heard...
 Call me morbid, or absurd,

 But to me, coming from you,
"Friend" is a four-letter word.

(Mostly unrelated, but as the question has already been answered I thought it was an interesting example)

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I also thought of the same song; the implied “let's stay friends from now on” that the other party has said clears a little the “But to me, coming from you, "friend" is a four-letter word”. –  ΤΖΩΤΖΙΟΥ Feb 14 '11 at 13:19
@TZ: I don't exactly understand your comment. –  sova Feb 15 '11 at 1:54
As you say, this is mostly unrelated and would be better as a comment. –  Mark Beadles Sep 10 '12 at 14:18

protected by RegDwigнt Sep 9 '12 at 20:00


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