Editing Four-letter word (section)

==History==
[[File:1976 campaign button a.JPG|thumb|right|[[Campaign button (political)|Campaign button]] used in the [[1976 United States presidential election]].]]

Common four-letter words (in this context) widely considered [[vulgarity|vulgar]] or [[term of disparagement|offensive]] include: ''[[cunt]]'', ''[[fuck]]'' (and regional variants like ''feck'', ''fick'', ''fock'', and ''foak''), ''[[wikt:jism|jism]]'' (or ''gism''), ''[[wikt:jizz|jizz]]'', ''[[shit]]'', ''[[slut]]'', ''[[twat]]'', and ''[[wikt:tit|tits]]''. Notably, the term ''Piss'' (once an offensive swear word){{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} has non-excretory uses (''pissed off'' meaning "angry" in [[American English|US English and British UK English]]; ''pissed'' meaning "drunk" in [[British English|UK English]] and [[Australian English]]) and has occurred with its excretory meaning in the [[King James Bible]]. Some of these words have been deemed legally [[Indecency|indecent]] under the regulations of the [[United States Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) for TV and radio open-airwave broadcasting.

Other words of this length that may be upsetting due to religious or personal sensitivity include: ''[[wikt:arse|arse]]'' (UK), ''[[wikt:damn|damn]]'', ''[[wikt:crap|crap]]'', ''[[wikt:hell|hell]]'', ''[[wikt:piss|piss]]'', ''[[wikt:wang|wang]]'', and ''[[wikt:wank|wank]]'' (UK). Additionally, slurs related to [[racism]], [[ableism]], and an individual's [[sexual orientation]] may qualify, such as ''[[wikt:mong|mong]]'' (in the UK not a racial slur,{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} but short for Mongol, or someone with [[Down syndrome]] – previously called [[Mongoloid idiot|Mongolism]]), ''[[wikt:gook|gook]]'', ''[[wikt:kike|kike]]'', ''[[wikt:spic|spic]]'', ''[[wikt:coon|coon]]'', ''[[wikt:dago|dago]]'', and ''[[wikt:dyke|dyke]]''.

Certain "four-letter words" have multiple meanings (some serving as [[given names]]) and usually only offend when used in their vulgar senses. Examples include: ''[[wikt:cock|cock]]'', ''[[wikt:dick|dick]]'', ''[[wikt:knob|knob]]'', ''[[wikt:muff|muff]]'', ''[[wikt:puss|puss]]'', ''[[wikt:shag|shag]]'' (UK), and ''[[wikt:toss|toss]]'' (UK). A borderline category includes words that are [[Euphemism|euphemistic]] evasions of "stronger" words and those that happen to be short, with both an expletive sound to some listeners and a sexual or excretory meaning (many also have other, non-vulgar meanings): ''[[wikt:butt|butt]]'' (US), ''[[wikt:crud|crud]]'', ''[[wikt:darn|darn]]'', ''[[wikt:dump|dump]]'', ''[[wikt:heck|heck]]'', ''[[wikt:poop|poop]]'' (US), ''[[wikt:slag|slag]]'' (UK, NZ, AUS), ''[[wikt:slut|slut]]'', and ''[[wikt:turd|turd]]''.

Finally, some four-letter terms with limited usage can be considered offensive within the regional dialect they are used, such as ''[[wikt:mong|mong]]'' and ''[[wikt:mary|mary]]''.

Occasionally, the phrase "four-letter word" is humorously used to describe common words composed of four letters. Examples include the word ''work'', implying that work can be unpleasant, or the game of ''[[golf]]'', jokingly referred to as a four-letter word when a player's pastime becomes an exercise in frustration. In 1993, ''[[Charlotte Observer]]'' journalist Doug Robarchek noted how many U.S. politicians have names with four letters, humorously observing, "Ever notice how many U.S. politicians have names that are also four-letter words? [[Gerald Ford|Ford]], [[Robert Dole|Dole]], [[David Duke|Duke]], [[George H. W. Bush|Bush]], [[Al Gore|Gore]] ... and how many make us think of four-letter words?"<ref>{{cite news|page= 6C|journal= [[w:Charlotte Observer|Charlotte Observer]] |date=September 29, 1993|department= Living|title= Outfront If You Ignore Deaths, Those State Rest Areas Are Perfectly Safe|author= Doug Robarchek}}</ref>