A while ago, I heard the word ぶっちゃけ on a comedy show used to mean "frankly."
I'd like to know three things:
1) How polite/impolite is this word? Looking it up online, it seems to be slang. I guess I shouldn't be using it at work...
2) If it is impolite/casual, what is a formal word with a similar meaning? I saw 率直に suggested online as a more formal alternative. Are there other good words to use?
3) Who uses this word/When was this word popular? Now that I think of it, I haven't heard anyone in "real life" use this word. Is it only used by a certain group (i.e., teenagers) or was only popular for a short time? Do most people know what it means?