Can I say it here?

Choose where you are, who can hear and how you would use the word. The verdict weighs the setting, the listener, the law and the research, and stamps it from Passed to Banned.

How the verdict is worked out

Each choice carries a weight. Places and listeners where the word is ordinary, such as a pub among friends, weigh almost nothing. Places with formal rules, such as a school, a courtroom or daytime television, weigh a great deal. How you use the word matters most. Shouting it at a stubbed toe lowers the score, because that is the use the pain and venting research supports. Aiming it at a person raises the score sharply, because that is the use that causes harm and the one the law cares about.

Some combinations override the arithmetic. Threatening someone is always the top band. Aiming the word at a stranger or a customer in public is treated as a possible offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. Swearing at your boss is treated as a dismissal risk, because employment tribunals have upheld sackings for it. Children, courtrooms and pre-watershed broadcasting all set a floor that nothing else can lower.

The four stamps

Passed

Go ahead. The setting and the listener expect it, and nobody is on the receiving end.

Advisory

Probably fine, but read the room. Wait for someone else to use the word first.

Cut

Better not. The social or professional cost outweighs the relief.

Banned

Serious trouble. This could be a criminal offence, a regulatory breach, contempt of court or a sackable act.

What it cannot know

The tool cannot hear your tone, see your face or know your friends. The same words can be affectionate between two people and devastating between two others. It is a summary of the research and the rules, not a substitute for judgement. For the full argument, read Why we use it and Why we shouldn't, which make opposite cases on purpose.