jawa asks... Do you swear very much?

Not a fan of hearing someone drop the C bomb (or seeing it on GRcade). It's a swear word I've never really felt the need to use. Not even sure why, perhaps just because it's less versatile than strawberry float with the ability to add - ed or - ing to it and much more likely to be used in confrontational situations.

I try not to swear too often, when I do it's almost always to empathise something like finishing an especially tiring day at work or getting bad news, rather than used to insult someone.

OrangeRKN wrote:...swearing being common across cultures this suggests swearing is a useful part of human language, but that usefulness derives from being seen as "bad" language!

I believe that we were typing roughly the same idea at the same time, Orange!

jawa_ wrote:

Moggy wrote:It's weird because I think your nephew is correct. They are just words and the "I don't like to hear swearing" thing is really weird when you think about it. There's no real reason why one word should be worse than another...

I think that, logically, that point is spot-on. Although... then again, if that were the case then why say the swear word rather than a more standard term? I wonder if it's because the idea of saying a "bad" word lets off more steam?

We have a choice of lots of words when talking.

"What the strawberry float is going on?"
"What the flip is going on?"
"What the bloody hell is going on?"
"What the crap is going on?"
"What in the name of Jesus Tittyfucking Christ is going on?"
"What the hell is going on?"
"What the heck is going on?"
"What on Earth is going on?"
"What is going on?"

Why use any other than the last one? And why are some examples worse than others? Just because some blokes 200 years decided some words are worse than others?

Obviously we are socially conditioned (as OR was saying) into it. I wouldn't swear in a work meeting or in front of kids for instance. But it really doesn't make any sense.

Red wrote:...Got no time for people who find it offensive...

I'm interested in this thought, Red! If you are with someone who may feel uncomfortable with swearing, does your annoyance rise because you feel swearing is just different words?

Grumpy David wrote:Not a fan of hearing someone drop the C bomb (or seeing it on GRcade). It's a swear word I've never really felt the need to use. Not even sure why, perhaps just because it's less versatile than strawberry float with the ability to add - ed or - ing to it and much more likely to be used in confrontational situations...

Yeah, I don't quite know why, but I think that generally the "C word" always feels rather over-the-top. There's no obvious reason as to why (after all, "d!ck" is heard very commonly) and maybe there's some odd Freudian issue around it. I believe that in the US it's often seen as a relatively mild term compared to here in the UK.

Moggy wrote:...Obviously we are socially conditioned (as OR was saying) into it. I wouldn't swear in a work meeting or in front of kids for instance. But it really doesn't make any sense.

I tend to agree, Moggy. I think "social rules" are a big part of it and maybe the act of deliberately using a "bad" word is a means of both adding emphasis and letting off a little steam.

jawa_ wrote:

Grumpy David wrote:Not a fan of hearing someone drop the C bomb (or seeing it on GRcade). It's a swear word I've never really felt the need to use. Not even sure why, perhaps just because it's less versatile than strawberry float with the ability to add - ed or - ing to it and much more likely to be used in confrontational situations...

Yeah, I don't quite know why, but I think that generally the "C word" always feels rather over-the-top. There's no obvious reason as to why (after all, "d!ck" is heard very commonly) and maybe there's some odd Freudian issue around it. I believe that in the US it's often seen as a relatively mild term compared to here in the UK.

I think it's the opposite, banana split is far more offensive in the US than the UK.

I think there are places in northern England where twat is considered more offensive than banana split though.

Moggy wrote:I think it's the opposite, banana split is far more offensive in the US than the UK...

I had not realised this; I have heard the c-word used a couple of times on American TV/film and just kinda assumed that it was more socially acceptable than perhaps it would be on TV in the UK.

Generally I rarely swear. When I'm drunk i Drop the f-bomb quite a lot (not aggressively, just in conversation) but I rarely drink these days, let alone get drunk. I find it particularly offensive but I did used to have to police it at work, mostly because there were kids. Working in the children's library, particularly for the 6 months we were having major anti-social behaviour problems was a special kind of hell because you'd be policing it for the sake of the families with kids and then have parents or teenagers swear at you (or threaten you) for asking them not to swear.

shy guy 64 wrote:just because i'm strawberry floating scottish doens't mean i strawberry floating swear all the strawberry floating time. strawberry float

Crikey!* I don't recall you swearing here in GR, shy guy!

* Possibie swear/curse word. Rumours abound that it is derived from "Christ". I do use "blimey" a lot and that is pretty much a "bad" word in that it is derived from "God blind me".

jawa_ wrote:

Moggy wrote:I think it's the opposite, banana split is far more offensive in the US than the UK...

I had not realised this; I have heard the c-word used a couple of times on American TV/film and just kinda assumed that it was more socially acceptable than perhaps it would be on TV in the UK.

That's probably true of cable TV (like HBO) in the US when compared to the BBC. Cable TV in the US has very little (if any) restrictions on words that can and can't be used.

But socially? It's far less offensive here than the US.

Outrunner wrote:...Working in the children's library, particularly for the 6 months we were having major anti-social behaviour problems was a special kind of hell because you'd be policing it for the sake of the families with kids and then have parents or teenagers swear at you (or threaten you) for asking them not to swear.

I am disappointed in myself to say that I have not visited a library for many years now. Even so... I'm surprised to hear that library staff have to ask some people not to swear whilst in the library - and that they can be aggressive when asked. Good grief!

jawa_ wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:just because i'm strawberry floating scottish doens't mean i strawberry floating swear all the strawberry floating time. strawberry float

Crikey!* I don't recall you swearing here in GR, shy guy!

* Possibie swear/curse word. Rumours abound that it is derived from "Christ". I do use "blimey" a lot and that is pretty much a "bad" word in that it is derived from "God blind me".

You haven’t gone into the right places

Moggy wrote:That's probably true of cable TV (like HBO) in the US when compared to the BBC. Cable TV in the US has very little (if any) restrictions on words that can and can't be used.

But socially? It's far less offensive here than the US.

You set me wondering and I did a little Googling... and, yes, it seems that the c-word is generally regarded as being a very "bad" word in the US.

Here in the UK I think that it gets a mixed reaction; I suspect that many people wouldn't generally use it but, then again, others bandy it around pretty regularly.

jawa_ wrote:I am disappointed in myself to say that I have not visited a library for many years now. Even so... I'm surprised to hear that library staff have to ask some people not to swear whilst in the library - and that they can be aggressive when asked. Good grief!

You're not alone, a lot of public libraries are slowly dying for a variety of reasons. Mine was doing OK but covid did a number on it and visitor numbers never really recovered. Aggression in the library I worked at was a pretty regular occurrence. At it's worst we had 2 security guards rather than one and we were on a priority list for police patrols. Personally I've been threatened on multiple occasions.

I'm surprised by the number of people here who have the swear filter on (noticeable when they quote someone who has used certain words).

Outrunner wrote:...Aggression in the library I worked at was a pretty regular occurrence. At it's worst we had 2 security guards rather than one and we were on a priority list for police patrols. Personally I've been threatened on multiple occasions.

I'm genuinely surprised to hear that some people behave so badly in a library... and that two security guards were needed . And threats! A little off-topic, but it's amazing had bad things are getting in some areas and situations. My local McDonalds had a security guard the last time (during the day) that I visited .

rinks wrote:I'm surprised by the number of people here who have the swear filter on (noticeable when they quote someone who has used certain words).

I love the filter! And I've changed how I write my posts to reflect the filter's work... it's strawbin' great! .

My favourite thing is when people use "berk" as a mild rebuke, oblivious to its origin.

All. The. Time. I think it's abhorrent that it's more acceptable for right wing grifters to go on telly and spout out and out hatred towards others than it would be for to call one of them a dickhead.