How’s this for humbling: General Electric, whose chief Jeffrey Immelt has been under pressure from shareholders to sell off underperforming NBC, saw company-wide revenues drop by their largest share in decades.

Meanwhile, the NBC unit, which counts for 10 percent of total dollars, saw revenues grow by three percent. Perhaps that’ll excuse Ben Silverman’s use of swear words during “Family Hour”?

Below, watch the New York Times try to explain those four-letter phrases on The Office and 30 Rock without actually saying them. It’s fun watching them squirm.

In the case of “30 Rock,” the reference came in the form of an acronym — part of the title of a make-believe “Survivor”-like show — referring to a teenager’s crude designation of someone’s sexy mother. In “The Office,” besides the bleeping, the character’s lips were even pixilated to prevent lip reading. But it was not difficult for many viewers instantly to realize what was said.