Italy: Don't use 'f-word' to neighbors

ROME, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Italy's highest court ruled Thursday the infamous "F-word," a frequent subject for the court, should be avoided with neighbors to maintain "mutual respect."

The Cassation Court said the word -- a four-letter synonym for fornication -- was not insulting because of how common it has become, but it should not be used in discussions with people living near one another "because neighborly relations must be marked by greater mutual respect," ANSA reported Thursday.

"Otherwise, it would be impossible to get along," the court said in finding an Ancona man guilty of "offending the honor" of neighbors by using the word during a dispute about parking in 2009.

The ruling amended a 2007 decision that ruled the word was not offensive because it has become "common usage."

The court has previously amended the ruling, including a late 2007 decision stating employers could not use the word toward workers and a May 2008 ruling giving mayors permission to use the term when speaking to contractors.