3 ms·

What does "heckin" mean? I associate it with redditors' impersonation of dogs and I was surprised to see it here.

jagged-chisel 9mo ago
In context in this case, “hell of a lot of.” Seems we English speakers come up with myriad grammatical constructions to seem less offensive in certain forums.
- jldugger 9mo ago
  Well, mostly I realized my first sentence was likely to come off more negative than funny (I just like, really enjoyed F-Zero GX back in the day!), so I decided to add a folksy salute to the effort to dilute that. And a smiley face, people heckin' love those =)
  - throwaway27448 9mo ago
    Interesting. I associate the term with reddit, not being folksy. I think the folksy term would be "fuckin lot" or "very lot" or "hella". I think maybe you were trying to cater to the "christians" or snowflake conservatives
    - itintheory 9mo ago
      It's linguistically a minced oath[1], and they're pretty common in all manner of online contexts. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minced_oath https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minced_oath
      - throwaway27448 9mo ago
        Great reference; thank you.
SonOfLilit 9mo ago
"Heck" is to "Hell" like "Darn" is to "Damn" (or "Freaking" to “F--ing") - a word that sounds similar but is more polite, to be said in public in more religious places and times.
- thaumasiotes 9mo ago
  That can't explain "hecking", because there is no form "helling".
  - PopAlongKid 9mo ago
    From Wiktionary entry for heckin': Etymology From heck as a euphemism for hell.
    - throwaway27448 9mo ago
      This still doesn't make sense as "hellin" isnt a term in wide use. What makes the most sense is transition from "fuckin". But why not simply use fuckin? Surely invoking sex is less taboo than invoking hell.
      - jldugger 8mo ago
        > What makes the most sense is transition from "fuckin". But why not simply use fuckin? Indeed, you have a community that wants to be family friendly but high energy, and so the technique is to start with "fucking", one of the top tier swears, and replace its root word with the lowest tier swears. And part of the charm is that "hell" is barely a taboo topic -- it's part of the Apostle's creed and plenty of sermons, and there's no commandment against its use[1], yet it gets minced to "heck"! [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_take_the_name_of_the_Lord_thy_God_in_vain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_take_the_name_o...
  - bombcar 9mo ago
    It's a form of hella which is "hell of" but hecka sounds silly so you get heckin. (Heck is also used as a substitute for fuck sometimes and takes its forms.)

In context in this case, “hell of a lot of.” Seems we English speakers come up with myriad grammatical constructions to seem less offensive in certain forums.

jldugger 9mo ago
Well, mostly I realized my first sentence was likely to come off more negative than funny (I just like, really enjoyed F-Zero GX back in the day!), so I decided to add a folksy salute to the effort to dilute that. And a smiley face, people heckin' love those =)
- throwaway27448 9mo ago
  Interesting. I associate the term with reddit, not being folksy. I think the folksy term would be "fuckin lot" or "very lot" or "hella". I think maybe you were trying to cater to the "christians" or snowflake conservatives
  - itintheory 9mo ago
    It's linguistically a minced oath[1], and they're pretty common in all manner of online contexts. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minced_oath https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minced_oath
    - throwaway27448 9mo ago
      Great reference; thank you.

SonOfLilit 9mo ago

"Heck" is to "Hell" like "Darn" is to "Damn" (or "Freaking" to “F--ing") - a word that sounds similar but is more polite, to be said in public in more religious places and times.

thaumasiotes 9mo ago
That can't explain "hecking", because there is no form "helling".
- PopAlongKid 9mo ago
  From Wiktionary entry for heckin': Etymology From heck as a euphemism for hell.
  - throwaway27448 9mo ago
    This still doesn't make sense as "hellin" isnt a term in wide use. What makes the most sense is transition from "fuckin". But why not simply use fuckin? Surely invoking sex is less taboo than invoking hell.
    - jldugger 8mo ago
      > What makes the most sense is transition from "fuckin". But why not simply use fuckin? Indeed, you have a community that wants to be family friendly but high energy, and so the technique is to start with "fucking", one of the top tier swears, and replace its root word with the lowest tier swears. And part of the charm is that "hell" is barely a taboo topic -- it's part of the Apostle's creed and plenty of sermons, and there's no commandment against its use[1], yet it gets minced to "heck"! [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_take_the_name_of_the_Lord_thy_God_in_vain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_take_the_name_o...
- bombcar 9mo ago
  It's a form of hella which is "hell of" but hecka sounds silly so you get heckin. (Heck is also used as a substitute for fuck sometimes and takes its forms.)