Is this counted as a swear word?

No bum isnt a swear word, it is used freely in our society these days, yes it is a generation thing, I wouldnt used the word, say botttom instead, it all amounts to the same part of our anatomy.

'Bum' isn't a swear word, it's Anglo-Saxon, and at worst might be considered slightly vulgar.
Having said that, DGD age 2, always grasses me up to her mummy: "Nanna said BUM!"

What's the bottom line here?

I used to work for a bus company in the 1980's. We brought out a TV advert with a little song that went "...but most of all get your bum on the bus". The ASA made us change it to "...seat on the bus" as they said "bum" wasn't suitable for TV. I like to think things have moved on - even my mum used the word and she'd be 94 this year, if she was still with us. Just a word that you either accept or not, I think.

Good grief with all that's going on in the world, a thread about the word bum!!! In USA they call it a fanny

Good to know we can still discuss things like rude words!

Now here's a question - where exactly is a British fanny? Is it a bum, like the US one, or is it what is coyly called a front bottom? And if you fall on your nellie in the UK, is that the same as falling on your fanny in the US?

I've never heard the expression 'to fall on one's nellie' Elegran. I've heard 'not on your nellie' but have never wondered what a 'nellie' was...

When in our Atlanta office, I asked the secretary is she had a rubber I could use, she was not amused.

And on the usa never tell a man to keep his pecker up!!!!!

Nanak we call it getting a new happy nappy when changing his bum/bottom [smile

Language is constantly evolving although you will find many "swear words" are Old English (all are in the dictionary). I don't find bum at all offensive.

I love the post about Minions & the use of "bottom", my 6 year old GS loves it & thinks it's really funny & slightly rude!!

The only swear word I find very offensive is the C word, if you're easily offended don't go to Glasgow (the F word is part of their vocabulary not used in an offensive manner just a normal part of their language)

I always thought Nellie was slang for belly haha just goes to show
I m with you Legs C is the only word that makes me cringe
It reminds when I had some Russian men staying in my house they used to love to go shopping especially QD anyway after one shopping trip the excitedly told me they had bought some sperm I was a bit shocked until I found out they had been buying packets of seeds

I was teaching English to a group of Laos medical students and we named all the body parts, belly, stomach, gut, bum, bottom etc. As they might well encounter some person who had "gut ache" for example and I see nothing wrong or offensive in using the word bum. In fact to me it sounds like the sought of word a kid would use. If just ant be.ieve the word bum needs to be discussed

"Trebor mints are a little bit stronger, stick 'em up your bum and they last a bit longer."

I remember my stepson's younger brother singing that back in the 70's when we took him on holiday with us. He was about 8 at the time.

Not a word I would use I suppose, but as others have said, it's probably a generational thing...

^ ...though I might use it in context if it was used by a younger person, for the sake of social ease!

I remember singing that in the 70's too alicebandit. So yes probably a generational thing as I was born in the 60's.

Bum? I think it's cute...

Dorsetpennt- you can't be serious!.

My 5 year old granddaughter giggles at words like bum and fart and there is nothing wrong with either of these words being used. To say that this could be the slippery slope is silly.
My 8 year old son wrote the word fuk in a Janet and John book which I still have. He is now 43. (and very clever)?

Honestly how silly. Very clever DH still has his leatherbound tiny dictionary from his primary school days - with page 60 marked where the word 'bum' is

He and his (all very well brought up) friends used to 'swear' at each other by just saying the page number. So cute.(life's too shorttruly).

Granjura I'm sitting on my 'page 60' as I'm writing this!

Devonlady!. I live in a large city and you can hear real swear words everywhere you go, so if you think bum is a swear word don't venture into a city because you'll get something far worse than a jolt.

By the time my son left his prep school he knew how to spell 'that word' properly.??

Well I was brought up to say bottom, tummy, wee wee, a-a (for poo), rude noises and front bottom!! I'm not keen on using any of the words which have been mentioned (bum, belly, fart, pee etc) I find them rather vulgar but wouldn't class them as swearing. As for saying 'I need a pee' which some friends of my age do, I wold NEVER say that! I say 'I need the loo'. My DiL doesn't let any of her children say these words either (except poo which seems ubiquitous.). However my other DiL (and son) talk about the baby having a smelly bum and changing his bum. I;m not keen on it but used to it. My DH would not like me to say these words either. I suppose we are rather proper in that respect, but not in all respects!!

Thinking back, I don't think I ever heard my Mum and Dad using these words. It was as if the things didn't exist. Although she did use "bottom". I don't think I ever heard them swear.
After doing a bit of human biology at school I tended to use the scientific words if necessary, but avoid any mention if possible. Very prim and proper.
Hardly knew anything about male anatomy until teens - no brothers and Dad a very private person.

Its my sons 36th birthday today crikey knows where the years have gone..... but I digress.

I just remembered a couple of things he said and did when he was small.

Sadly he had to got o nursery almost every day as I was a single mum and worked full time. He would have been about two and a half and used to chant a silly "rhyme" that went "poo, pot piddler la la la, doo dah, doo dah" over and over again to the tune of Camptown Races and it drove me nuts.

The other thing was that my mum always stored a tub of Vim in the bathroom and he used to sprinkle it around the toilet bowl and practice weeing it off. Once or twice I don't think he sprinkled the Vim in the loo at all and just weed straight into the little holes in the Vim tub.

I must remember to remind him when I see him later.