Is this counted as a swear word?

I had a friend who was a professor who taught teachers how to organise TEFL programmes. She had a book about English swear words. Evidently the English language has more swear words than any other language in the world!

Is the OP a piss-take?

I didn't think it was ?

Maybe not a swear word as such but this did give me a jolt
What happens when the OP hears the F word, go into cardiac arrest? Or walk around with ear defenders on.

If we define swear words, they were words which would once have been used to swear an oath. "I swear by Almighty God, . . ." etc etc. Some evolved into things like "bloody" (by our lady) which are still considered swearwords, some have been altered to be repectable ("Christ!" became crikey, "God!" became gosh)

Vulgar words for body parts are not exactly swear words, they are crude words for parts which polite people don't refer to directly. New words are constantly being coined, and the old ones are used less and thought to be coarse. Even f**k was once the everyday word for "carnal intercourse", and was used by everyone from kings to nuns.

I don't like the word 'bum'. But it's the terminology of the day, so what can you do? Sounds coarse. 'Bottom' is much nicer.

Nothing wrong with bum in my normal universe quite like using the word arse too.

My 3 year old DGD asked me today if I minded her farting in my house. I said that was just fine. She then said "You can fart in my house if you want." That's friendship for you!

We were a bottom, tummy, wee wee, poo family. Without being twee, this is the way it was. 'Bum' would have been greeted with abject horror and a severe telling off!

However, language is always evolving, so the more widespread use of 'bum' nowdays is not shocking, just proof that semantic drift is in place.

My grandchildren use 'bottom burps' for - well, it's obvious, really - and I think that's great word usage.

I have just had a recall: I was at a friend's house and said 'crikey'. My friend's mother overheard and went bananas (another change in the use of a word?!) as she was very religious and I was blaspheming and in her house, too! I had absolutely no idea why she was so cross with me, as was allowed to use this word in my home but I learnt very quickly that a word can have different connotations.

I

Topical article in the Times today saying profanity is "poetic" and "artful" and we should rehabilitate it.

lucky

lg

Yes. I quite like "arse" too. If you're going to be naughty, do it properly.

I'm at a loss to understand why wee is posher than pee!

Pee is uncouth. Wee isn't. So there!

I have a very posh friend who was chatting to me about her butcher she said and I quote " I said to him your a silly twat" well I almost passed out. I can swear people might expect me to swear but up to that moment I wouldn't have expected her to have ever heard a swear word. When she saw my face she was flummoxed and had no idea what she'd said. When I explained how rude that word was where I was born she could hardly believe me. Apparently it's not a swear word in some parts of the country. Well were I live it most certainly is

Twat = twit = eejit in Scotland. No big deal.

Eejit.... love it!

Being a US/UK transplant some 20 years ago, I am still learning slang here. In my last job we had a Scottish girl, and one from the Lakes District. I was alternately called 'hen' and 'chicken' all day long. I loved it, and it always put me in a good mood.

Some locals here say 'my love' or 'lovey', but I don't hear it as much nowadays. Ooooo-arrrrr... the Wurzels!

"Twat" is absolutely awful!

Bags, you do know what it means, don't you?

Well, I think I know.

Googled it.

Yes, I do know.

Yes - it doesn't mean 'twit' at all!

But I think a lot of people use it believing it does...

No. It means the same as another totally unusable word!