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Swear words

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

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

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.

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.

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............

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.

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.

MawBroon Sun 19-Mar-17 09:02:09

How do you define" swearing"
It used to mean taking an oath on something v precious
"By gad (God) Zounds(god's wounds) by Christ etc" which became sanitised to "goodness! Heavens, "etc)
Then the "by" became omitted and given that religion features less in people's lives, they seem to prefer to swear by parts of their anantomy or basic sexual activity(sex, defecating etc)
No way is "boobs" eligible as a swear word, and while shit/shite/suck etc are vulgar they are hardly profanities.
What prompted the question?

thatbags Sun 19-Mar-17 07:52:14

buy

thatbags Sun 19-Mar-17 07:51:46

I was forty/forty-one when I was working in Thailand. My colleagues were all in their early to mid twenties. When my visa ran out (because I forgot about it) I calmly said "oh dear" and sorted out, with the college head, a run to the Malaysian border to renew it (and to by some Toblerone and Martini). When something went wrong for my colleagues, including lapsed visas, each and every one of them, whether Aussie, Yank or Limey, said "shit".

Because I was the only one saying oh dear they thought it was much more powerful than their shits.

vampirequeen Sun 19-Mar-17 07:38:12

I don't think any of them are 'real' swear words although all might offend some people.

I've been known to let rip like a docker in the privacy of my own home but never the c word.

morethan2 Sun 19-Mar-17 06:43:40

I was discussing this tread with my daughter last night simply because my Irish MiL used to say shite all the time as in "don't talk shite" she also used to say feck a lot. She was rather well bought up and I never heard any other swear words. That side of the family have a lot of New Yorkers so we also heard sucks. My grandchildren will often say boobies. I laughingly told my daughter that we must be a very common family with all this swearing. She now thinks that gransnetters are sweet delicate old ladies and she log on to mumsnet to prove it. The air is positively blue over there. The language is ripe. There's seems to be no boundaries about what they can discuss. I ended up rather admiring these strong opinionated women. I'm off to practice my swearing and bring it up to date.wink

Hopehope Sun 19-Mar-17 00:12:06

I too don't think any of the three are swear words, but agree that for some reason shite sounds maybe harsher than shit. I would never ever use the C word, and if I hear it at all( Not from my Family I hasten to add), it actually makes me cringe.

I say shit, and if I am really really angry, as I was when we received that stupid letter from DWP which I spoke about in my rant post. I use the F word, which brings a very disgusted and somewhat sad look from DH who never swears at all.

Funnily enough he does when shouting out in his sleep when he is having a disturbed night. sorry I seem to be waffling, nighty night

Chewbacca Sat 18-Mar-17 23:30:10

Wash your mouth out Absent! grin

absent Sat 18-Mar-17 22:43:05

Well, all I can say to The Times is pee, po, belly, bum, drawers!

stillaliveandkicking Sat 18-Mar-17 21:29:32

However i have used it a couple of times in my life to totally get rid of someone. I find it works. So there is a place for it after all.

Chewbacca Sat 18-Mar-17 21:21:05

In certain circumstances, I can swear like a navvy but there are no circumstances, whatsoever, that I would ever use the "c" word can't even bring myself to write the word . And I would judge anyone, male or female, who did use it. Like Purple daffodil I too went to see The Vagina Monologues and couldn't bring myself to say it.

rascal Sat 18-Mar-17 21:16:45

I never swear. My parents and grandparents never either. No need for it! It never comes into my head.smile

stillaliveandkicking Sat 18-Mar-17 21:11:38

I also hate the word and I love to swear. For some reason it's become the worst word ever. Who knows why but it really is. The minute anyone says it I cringe. It's now seen as a very low thing to say. Mind you Im pretty glad as my vagina is lovely.

Purpledaffodil Sat 18-Mar-17 21:07:06

Interesting how many of us have problems with the c word. I went to see The Vagina Monologues once with DD and the audience were required to shout the c word. I just couldn't, although will admit to effing and jeffing under provocation. blush
May have shared how a small child once complained that another had sworn and used the r word. Despite my extensive sweary vocabulary I couldn't identify this word. It turned out to be... arse. grin

stillaliveandkicking Sat 18-Mar-17 20:34:47

It also depends on who you're with. I have friends from all denominations but as a working class lass, when I'm with my dearest and closest friends we tend to have a swear up and not even notice we swear a lot. However, if with others it doesn't happen.

Im not about to ask the girl in Sainsburys for a packet of "f"ing old holborn smile There's a time and a place.

Rinouchka Sat 18-Mar-17 20:32:36

I don't think any of the three are swear words but wonder why you would wish to add a "e" to a perfectly adequate shorter word often used as an exclamation( even by me, though I prefer "merde" or "stronzo", but only in select company) !

Boobs is just an endearing diminutive and "sucks" as in "It sucks" a perfectly acceptable observation, albeit limited in scope, used in appropriate company.

I hate the anglosaxon c word. That is a swear word and ugly. Much prefer the French "con"! grin , said with a shrugging of shoulders, movement of hand, pouting of lips, rolling of eyes, referring to people, things, actions, events, and generally denoting extreme stupidity.

thatbags Sat 18-Mar-17 20:24:18

I think it depends how you use swear words as well. Billy Connolly type usage gets a bit tiresome but an unexpected outburst from an unexpected source can be marvellous and very effective.

thatbags Sat 18-Mar-17 20:22:33

I don't swear very much but I do think it's a fabulous de-stresser. Actually I think there have been scholarly articles saying just that.
And swear words can be
fillers and padders
and emphasis adders.

stillaliveandkicking Sat 18-Mar-17 20:17:59

Isn't shite Irish for shit? I also like saying sod or bugger off. The connotation of bugger and sod is "back passage language" and probably far worse than shit, mind you that comes from your backside too smile How boobs can be swearing is beyond me and silly to think it is. As for sucks, that's an American-ism and not a swear word either.

There is a huge place for a bit of swearing and I can and do.

I remember a posh girl at school, we used to pay her 10p to swear, it sounded great!

thatbags Sat 18-Mar-17 20:16:44

were

thatbags Sat 18-Mar-17 20:16:14

The thing is, duck shit really is shitty stuff! Shit is the perfect word for it expressing, as it does, the complete yuckiness of it, especially when it sticks to your shoes.

I think using asterisks instead of letters is patronising—as if people didn't know what the missing letters was! Very silly.
But I suppose it is a way of getting past the silly censoring rules.