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Swear words

(131 Posts)
thatbags Sat 18-Mar-17 13:07:23

Are 'shite', 'sucks', and 'boobs' swear words?

Skweek1 Sun 19-Mar-17 09:12:54

First boyfriend (very upperclass!) used shite, but not keen. I only ever use bad language when speaking to our neighbours who don't appear to undestand any other language and I once surprised some business partners by calling them a f-ing lazy waste of space. They were so shocked that they actually listened to me and behaved impeccably for at least a week!It doesn't work if you use that sort of language only very rarely.

Veda Sun 19-Mar-17 09:21:52

I hate swear words although I do occasionally resort to them if I'm really angry or I hurt myself. Boobs & it sucks I don't consider as swearing but shite I do. I am a Christian & will not tolerate blasphemy. Recently I was told by the uncle of my husband's grandson that the grandson would not be coming to our house again because I asked him not to use blasphemy in our house. He's only been to our house once in two years & that was very recently. I actually don't even remember this incident. Another product of old age I guess.

radicalnan Sun 19-Mar-17 09:27:04

I love swearing........not at people but in language. We use other adjectives and admire the richness of language and yet frown upon some really emphatic words, which often denote a sort of comradeship an acknowledgement of imtimacy.

I am becoming more comfortable with the C word too..........language is eclectic and mobile and mobilising............

Bamm Sun 19-Mar-17 09:28:34

For some reason I just hate 'boobs'. I don't consider it swearing, just really offends me.

trisher Sun 19-Mar-17 09:32:02

None of them are swear words. I swear occasionally. I do remember in my childhood trying out "Blimey"( I think I picked it up from a film or something) and my mum telling me I shouldn't use it because I was asking God to blind me. Don't think it is ever used now.

inishowen Sun 19-Mar-17 09:37:26

How times change. In the late sixties my brother moved to London. When he came home for a visit he used the word "pregnant". There were blushes all round. In our house we said "expecting"! Another example, my very religious aunt used to say she'd done "duck all" that day. She had no idea that "duck" for a substitute for the "f" word.

meandashy Sun 19-Mar-17 09:53:46

I love our language in all its forms. Swearing is part of my dialog, it doesn't define me as a bad person.
Each to their own though...... I think shite is used quite heavily in Scotland ☺

Poly580 Sun 19-Mar-17 09:59:24

I am known for saying "pigs" instead of swearing. Works for me ?
Don't like "shite"

BellaT2 Sun 19-Mar-17 10:05:28

I think this might be a regional thing - my Scottish and Irish friends say 'shite' is quite acceptable, English friends think it's much ruder than 'shit'.

mancgirl Sun 19-Mar-17 10:09:51

While my husband can swear with his male friends (the f word etc) he never swears in front of our sons who are in their 30's or ladies - old school in some respects. They roar laughing when in front of them he says whoops a daisy instead of swearing! By the same token they don't sweat in front of us either. Guilty of using bugger when something goes wrong. Do not like the C word at all..

mancgirl Sun 19-Mar-17 10:11:50

Well they might sweat but not swear!!

Gemmag Sun 19-Mar-17 10:32:38

I don't take offence when I hear my son refer to something as being a load of shite, but I would be offended if he said it was a load of shit?
The C word is altogether different and I hate to hear it used.
Last weekend my 5 year DG pulled down the top of her shirt and showed me her boobies, she did it a few times in quick succession and we both collapsed in giggles.
Sucks is not a swear word.

Elegran Sun 19-Mar-17 10:48:48

Respectable French ladies say "merde".

Sulis Sun 19-Mar-17 10:58:01

to swear or not to swear? Is that the question? I can remember my father's horror when I first used the f word. He being the avid user of "bugger" which apparently was fine as he was a man, but as women we were not allowed to swear - but I admit to just LOVING to shock on the odd occassion. Now, however, I'm totally forbidden to swear because I take care of my grandaughter twice a week! I can remember inventing swear words when at school (catholic convent grammar!0 with my best friend. I remember that "hairs on men's legs" had been our favourite!

thatbags Sun 19-Mar-17 10:59:12

I'm really surprised that so many people don't like shite and wonder if they feel as strongly about shit in particular but also crap, dung, poo, excrement, etc. So, if I were annoyed about something and said "Oh, shite excrement!" would you dislike it as much?

A German friend of mine was amazed when she discovered how much people dislike the word shit/e in Britain. She says Germans say Scheisse all the time and it's a 'nothing' word as far as offensiveness is concerned.

Elisabeth68 Sun 19-Mar-17 11:15:45

I never swore until I met very posh girls at nursing school in London in the 60s
My kids call me potty mouth and as 2 live in the US, I have to be very pc when visiting;

Elrel Sun 19-Mar-17 11:54:46

None are swearing as far as I can see.
Personally I don't say shite as it would feel as if I'm claiming to be Celtic, as would feck. They need the right accent. Disappointingly my DNA (done for the family tree) showed zero Irish! Shite is very common on Mumsnet.
So is suck it up which I don't particularly like although I sometimes say 'that sucks'.

BOOBS?? Swearing??? Someone is having a laugh, surely? I can't see what's wrong with 'breasts', if you can't manage it there's 'bosom' or even 'embonpoint'! 'Tits' sounds like a male Sun reader, 'jugs' Elizabethan, and 'girls' and 'puppies' just sooo twee.
Has anyone, ever, heard boobs as a swear word except maybe from a confused 3 year old?

F word is swearing to me but C word usually derogatory to women so unpleasant to hear.

Caro1954 Sun 19-Mar-17 11:56:37

I hate the word shite but it is quite common (no pun intended!) in Ireland (my homeland). The other two aren't swear words I don't think. Like "posh French ladies" i favour merde but do resort to shit in private! I object very strongly to blasphemy.

Bellanonna Sun 19-Mar-17 12:28:27

I have never used, and hate to hear, the C word. However, aren't the words prick and dick identical except for being male? Men can be referred to as pricks but it doesn't have the same derogatory value as the female equivalent. I wonder why this is?

adaunas Sun 19-Mar-17 12:32:13

I too say "oh sugar" to avoid saying shit. I try never to swear even under my breath anywhere near the GC. I wouldn't ever use shite, though when we lived in Liverpool I heard people referred to as gobshites and gulls referred to as shite hawks. I inadvertently referred to a newspaper article as a load of crap, only to hear my GD tell her mum "Grandma said a swear word, she said rap with a c at the front."

Elrel Sun 19-Mar-17 12:34:08

Bellanonna. I was thinking that, somehow 'prick' seems to have some humour whereas the C word is just nasty and violent.

Chewbacca Sun 19-Mar-17 12:35:54

Funny you should say that Bella because I was with a friend of mine recently when a woman in our group referred to a man, who'd done something appalling apparently as "a twat". My friend stepped in and said that she had no problem with calling the man with whatever name was required, but she took serious umbrage with using female genitalia to insult someone and, in those circumstances, referring to the male genitalia would be more appropriate. I was shock! But she's right!

krysiam Sun 19-Mar-17 12:40:13

The funny thing is that most of these words are acceptable in Scrabble, and our group do not hesitate to use them (even the "c" word!)

pollyperkins Sun 19-Mar-17 13:21:54

I would never use shit or shite- ifind them quite offensive. As is 'crap' which i used to hear a lot at work. The other two words arent very polite but not swearing. I have never used the f word or the c word in my life.
The worst i say is 'damn', 'god' or 'for gods sake' only when very provoked. I hate hearing people say Jesus 'Christ in that way.
I tend to use words like flipping heck, knickers etc! DH says bloody hell when very provoked but i tell him off as i dont like it!!

pollyperkins Sun 19-Mar-17 13:31:40

I suppose Im a prude, having read other responses. I try never to swear or even think the words. I do say blimey though! Yes i would find 'excremwnt' or any word for it offensive except in correct context! I never had a problem with correct biological words though there was a sharp intake of breath when i said vagina whennteaching tge reproductve system. I very much dislike slang words like dick, prick, fanny but accept willy and poo as the GC have been taught them!