Try to let the word sound out with that trembling letter R: Kurr-rat! Kurat küll! Kuradi kurat! After you have uttered these words a couple of times from the bottom of your heart, you might feel better. I suggest you try when you’re upset. It’s pretty safe to do it in predominantly English-speaking settings, as no one will be offended.
Actually, no one would feel offended when hearing someone swear with the word kurat in Estonian-language settings either, because it is clear that you are not angry at someone in particular, but rather at a situation in general. Perhaps it would even make sense to teach the word to your immediate neighbours, just like our ancestors have done earlier: Baltic Germans borrowed the word from Estonian verbatim; coastal Swedes rendered it as “korat”, Latvians—“kurrata”, and Finns—“kuratti”. All have the same meaning as in Estonian.
