I have been advised (by a source who wishes to remain anonymous) that there are some "words" used in the UK, beginning with "E", which one would probably not wish to use in the presence of one's Aunt Florence. The one which struck me as being the most likely candidate for discussion here, since it does enjoy usage in the US as well, is "effing".

"Effing" is, of course, derived from the letter "F" , the first letter in "fuck", and is merely a way of saying "fucking" without actually saying "fucking". The question is: "Since the root of 'effing' is the letter 'f', does it qualify as an actual word beginning with 'e' or does it, for all practical purposes, begin with 'f'?"

If we allow "effing", will we then be required th allow the "ess" in "SOB" (abbreviation for 'son of a bitch')? When we say 'SOB' we don't pronounce it 'sob', as in "boo-hoo", but spell it out as 'ess-oh-bee'. And if we allow that, then would we be expected to allow any word beginning with a letter whose own spelling begins with an "E"? Think about it: Parents are always spelling out "ess-aitch-eye-tee" or "em-oh-tee-aitch-ee-ar-ef-you-cee-kay".

Where would it all end?