#798: Adjectives explain

Frequency with which various adjectives are intensified with obscenities (based on Google hits)

[The legend above the plot reads:]

Red marker: “fucking ____”

Blue marker: “____ as shit”

[Mathematical formula for scale next to the legend:]

Scale: ln(hits for intensified phrase/hits for adjective alone)

[The plot itself lists a series of adjectives in approximately descending order. Each has a red and a blue marker corresponding to the scale described.]

[Horizontal axis starts with none, then has a vertical dashed line, then ‘rarely’ at -17, increasing to ‘often’ at -5.]

[Each adjective is listed with approximate red and blue values, in that order.]

Annoying -5 -4.5

Pissed -5 -6

Stupid -5 -8

Bored -6 -6

Sexy -5.5 -6.5

Adorable -6.5 -9.5

Disgusting -6.5 -12.5

Calm -7 -10

Delicious -8 -13

Obscene -6 -14

Prosaic -10 -13.5

Bemused -8.5 -14

Apropos -10.5 -16

Ambivalent -12 -17

Improper -12.5 -18

Evanescent -14 -14.5

Piquant -9.5 never

Jejune -9 never

Kafkaesque -10 never

Stochastic -14 never

Fungible -12 never

Peristeronic (“Of or pertaining to pigeons”) never never

[There are two small scenes in the bottom right of the plot. The first shows a pair of women holding wine glasses.]

Megan: Yes, the Cabernet is piquant as shit this year.

[The second shows Cueball sitting at a computer desk.]

Cueball: Whoa — these commodities are fucking fungible!