I just got the captcha (distorted confirmation word) "buggrox" on another blog. For sure I'm gonna use that for swearing!
It's funny, "bugger" is a very common mild swear word for Brits, but really it means having anal intercourse, so it's weird that it's not a bad one.
It's funny, I wonder how it's decided what's rude. The F-word is still bad, but not as bad as the C-word. Hmmm, I think that it's connected to social guilt about oppression in the past, since that word was aimed at the female gender. The fear of offending makes us take the side of the offended, thus building up the strength of the feelings of being offended, which increases the fear of it, which...
"The F-word is still bad, but not as bad as the C-word."
ReplyDeleteI think you're coming from a distinctly British angle here; everywhere I've been in the states, the f-word is omnipresent, but jaws will drop if you use the c-word. It just isn't said in "civilized" circles.
LOL! Exactly! I've sure never heard it anywhere! YIKES!
ReplyDeleteIt's like the other F word, which in America means bum.
ReplyDeleteBugger also means one who practices buggery.
I work in an industry where use debuggers all the time.
Notice how you can say shite in Britain a lot easier than shit.
I get the feeling that what you hear, and how frequently, is usually affected heavily by the company you keep, rather than being a 'national trait' ... ever listened to a bunch of kids in a playground? (in some areas more than others!)
ReplyDeleteThe worst language I EVER heard, over the period of a couple of hours ... and this was repeated time and again ... was by the 'ladies' attending 'their' nights with the male dancers / strippers.
Some (and I do emphasise that word) were obviously educated, normally well-mannered people who probably saw the inside of a church quite regularly, but the language in use would make most peoples toes curl: I used to wonder whether the performers sometimes wore earplugs! :-)
I've played pro rugby most of my life, so I'm not exactly wet behind the ears, but it truly came as a surprise to hear language (that I would not normally expect to hear in a rugby locker room)being used creatively by women!
And NO ... I was NOT a performer:-) ... I was being paid to photograph the shows and crowds during the events ... and believe me, even in front of a camera, language skills were often matched by behaviour ... such a shame that blackmail is a crime! :-)