Frak

"Frak" is an potent profanity in the language of the Twelve Colonies. It is a bowdlerized version of the real-life expletive "fuck".

• The term can describe sexual relations.

Example: "You know what? I don't care who or what he fraks. He saved my ass down there, all right?" (Flight of the Phoenix)

• The term, as a perjorative, can be used to curse someone you vilify or find disgusting.

Example: "Frakkin' rats" (Bastille Day)

Example: "Frak you" (Resurrection Ship, Part II)

• The term can be used in several variations and compound words.

Example: "Talk to me, you motherfrakker!" (Valley of Darkness)

• The term also is used as an adjective to describe an action or object that is subjectively considered outrageous, extreme, or ill-advised.

Example: "Does anybody else think that this plan is frakking nuts?" (Fragged)

• The term can be used as a means of conveying shock or surprise.

Example: "Oh, frak me! Radiological Alarm!" (33)

• The term can also be used to express agreement.

Example: "Frakkin' Eh" (Resistance)

"Frak" is derived from the Original Series expletive, "frack" which was used in character dialogue far less than its counterpart in the Re-imagined Series. Another original series expletive was "felgercarb" which has not as yet been used in the re-imagined series. The re-imagined series' production team said they felt that "frack" should be a four-letter word, hence "frak".

Note

This profanity's real-world derivation can be found in this article on Wikipedia. The terms "frak" and "frack" were obviously used in dialogue in the Original Series to comply with FCC and other broadcast decency standards because the FCC has jurisdiction over the contents of broadcast TV. "Frak" is pretty much a carryover to the Re-imagined Series because the FCC does not currently have jurisdiction to impose decency standards over paid services, like cable TV and satellite radio. However, the use of a profanity substitute rather than the "real" word is convenient should episodes be broadcast on over-the-air TV (i.e., NBC and affiliates) because editing for verbal content would not be required.