So, yesterday I was a part of a conversation where one person whispered the word asshole. As in, said, My husband can be such an asshole.

And then another person said, I always just say 'ah-sho-lay' instead of Asshole. Person one was delighted! And then person two added,And instead of shithead, just say 'shi-theed. Yay! Cursing without cursing! Joy of Joys! Discovery of discoveries!

As you can imagine, I am opposed to the practice of modifying the pronunciation of curse words to create lighter cursewords. Lighter cursewords are words likephooey and crap, and those words already exist, so there is no need to dumb down a perfectly good curse word. If one means to curse lightly, then one should certainly use words from the Cursing Lite approved list (see phooey, crap.). However,if one means to say Asshole, then one should come right out and say Asshole. There's a reason we have so many words from which to choose: to express degrees and intensity of feeling. To explain nuances and create accurate descriptions. Words--including naughty words-- exist so that we don't have to use cheap adjectives like nice and sad all the time.

So use the word you mean to use, even if that word is asshole.Ah-sho-lay is for the timid.