Knowledge

Minced oath

Source 📝

1900: 401:
Although minced oaths are not as strong as the expressions from which they derive, some audiences may still find them offensive. One writer in 1550 considered "idle oaths" like "by cocke" (by God), "by the cross of the mouse foot", and "by Saint Chicken" to be "most abominable blasphemy". The minced
488:(1919), in which the narrator explained that "Strickland, according to Captain Nichols, did not use exactly the words I have given, but since this book is meant for family reading, I thought it better—at the expense of truth—to put into his mouth language familiar to the domestic circle". 500:, stating in Appendix F of the novel: "But Orcs and Trolls spoke as they would, without love of words or things; and their language was actually more degraded and filthy than I have shown it. I do not suppose that any will wish for a closer rendering, though models are easy to find." 229:
mentions that people used to swear by birds instead of by the gods, adding that the soothsayer Lampon still swears by the goose "whenever he's going to cheat you". Since no god was called upon, Lampon may have considered this oath safe to break.
1588: 436:
recalled that "some years ago", after using it in print, he had received complaints that it was blasphemous because of its origin as "God's wounds". (He had written an article entitled "Zounds! Is
175:
wrote "I wouldn't give a blank for such a blank blank. I'm blank, if he doesn't look as if he'd swallowed a blank codfish." By the 1880s, it had given rise to the derived forms
460:
It is common to find minced oaths in literature and media. Writers sometimes face the problem of portraying characters who swear and often include minced oaths instead of
271:
The use of minced oaths in English dates back at least to the 14th century, when "gog" and "kokk", both euphemisms for God, were in use. Other early minced oaths include
796:
Hugh Gazzard: An Act To Restrain Abuses Of Players (1606), in: The Review of English Studies, New Series, Vol. 61, No. 251 (September 2010), pp. 495-528, here p. 496
993: 974: 1583: 1423: 129: 840:
Lund, J.M. (2002). "The Ordeal of Zeal-of-the-Land Busy: The Conflict Over Profane Swearing and the Puritan Culture of Discipline".
171:
is an ironic reference to the dashes that are sometimes used to replace profanities in print. It goes back at least to 1854, when
1241: 630: 1571: 1408: 1258: 1116: 680: 209:
is said to have forbidden his subjects to swear by the gods, suggesting that they instead swear by the ram, the goose or the
1147: 1644: 1621: 1175: 1311: 217:
favored the "Rhadamanthine" oath "by the dog", with "the dog" often interpreted as referring to the bright "Dog Star",
1433: 1199: 1095: 1067: 957: 932: 907: 879: 309: 1012: 806: 1836: 245: 393:
did not (at least not in RP), so that they no longer sound like their original meaning of "By God's wounds".
56:
Many languages have such expressions. In the English language, nearly all profanities have minced variants.
1870: 1578: 1231: 421: 98:
allow a speaker to begin to say the prohibited word and then change to a more acceptable expression. In
1709: 39:
word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh" for "
1864: 1674: 1510: 1445: 1306: 1059: 1934: 1316: 1140: 286:
opposition to swearing. Seven new minced oaths are first recorded between 1598 and 1602, including
308:
for "God's nails" from the historian John Hayward. Swearing on stage was officially banned by the
1729: 1614: 265: 312:
in 1606, and a general ban on swearing followed in 1623. Other examples from the 1650s included
1929: 1505: 1481: 1403: 727:
Dillon, Matthew (1995). "By Gods, Tongues, and Dogs: The Use of Oaths in Aristophanic Comedy".
470: 1816: 1566: 1301: 1253: 1236: 496: 484: 455: 1885: 1821: 1724: 1679: 1540: 1530: 1525: 1486: 1471: 1343: 1216: 1187: 925:
Creative Writer's Style Guide: Rules and Advice for Writing Fiction and Creative Nonfiction
539: 8: 1939: 1714: 1659: 1649: 1476: 1194: 1133: 433: 27:
expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a
1924: 1903: 1875: 1734: 1694: 1669: 1607: 1520: 1498: 1248: 752: 744: 709: 442: 1880: 1785: 1759: 1754: 1749: 1689: 1684: 1664: 1438: 1373: 1358: 1321: 1226: 1211: 1112: 1091: 1063: 953: 928: 903: 875: 756: 676: 524: 425: 386: 1858: 1831: 1719: 1699: 1535: 1206: 849: 736: 634: 529: 491: 479: 432:
may sound amusing and archaic to the modern ear, yet as late as 1984 the columnist
359:
In some cases the original meanings of these minced oaths were forgotten; the oath
124:", which was subsequently abbreviated to "berk". Alliteration can be combined with 558: 348: 155:. Sometimes words borrowed from other languages become minced oaths; for example, 1780: 1739: 1704: 1654: 1466: 1413: 1388: 1378: 1363: 1296: 1286: 1182: 1170: 1053: 582: 333: 288: 1826: 1049: 895: 770: 509: 233: 185: 125: 740: 318: 157: 1918: 1848: 1744: 1550: 1221: 867: 534: 475: 437: 172: 121: 99: 853: 324: 80: 1775: 1428: 1383: 1281: 1276: 1088:
Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English
353: 329: 226: 206: 194: 108: 69: 371: 102:, rhyming euphemisms are often truncated so that the rhyme is eliminated; 1493: 1418: 1368: 1338: 1291: 407: 403: 293: 279: 24: 377: 361: 183:, which combined gave the name of the long-running British TV quiz show 74: 1800: 1515: 1450: 1393: 1156: 713: 465: 301: 261: 748: 86: 1842: 1795: 1630: 1348: 1326: 519: 461: 32: 28: 338: 272: 214: 210: 1790: 1545: 1353: 514: 464:
in their writing so that they will not offend audiences or incur
417: 412: 283: 902:. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 298. 222: 141: 248:) are circumlocutions for titles of God, the first for either 1398: 1125: 65: 36: 1599: 282:
drama contains a profusion of minced oaths, probably due to
700:
Echols, Edward C. (1951). "The Art of Classical Swearing".
236:
says there are minced oaths in the Bible: the Hebrew words
151: 117: 49: 1104: 952:. Fairway, Kansas: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 83. 668: 132:", substituted for the blasphemous use of "Jesus Christ". 40: 446:
for 12 June 1973, and also used "zounds" in June 1970.)
662: 1106: 927:. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. p. 207. 670: 808:
Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
775:
The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs
268:
footnotes dispute this interpretation of the Hebrew.
135:
Minced oaths can also be formed by shortening: e.g.,
874:. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 166. 559:"Definition and Etymology of GOSH – Merriam-Webster" 402:oaths "'sblood" and "zounds" were omitted from the 777:. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 109–110. 478:to use the minced oath "fug" over his objections. 1916: 769: 633:. Straightdope.com. 10 May 1996. Archived from 842:Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 1615: 1141: 675:. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Oxford Press. 449: 64:Common methods of forming a minced oath are 655: 653: 607: 605: 603: 494:pretends a similar mincing of profanity in 162: 128:equivalence, as in the pseudo-blasphemous " 1622: 1608: 1148: 1134: 991: 972: 947: 575: 1111:(2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 781: 650: 641: 600: 256:'(Yahweh is) Armies' and the second for 1048: 1010: 894: 866: 614: 328:for "By God's hooks" (referring to the 167:, meaning 'soft dung'. The minced oath 1917: 1085: 922: 726: 699: 482:referred to this problem in his novel 1603: 1129: 992:Kilpatrick, James J. (11 June 1970). 973:Kilpatrick, James J. (12 June 1973). 839: 583:"Allen's collection of minced oaths" 90:. Alliterative minced oaths such as 1105:prep. by J. A. Simpson ... (1989). 669:prep. by J. A. Simpson ... (1994). 474:, where publishers required author 420:-influenced censorship. In 1941, a 13: 14: 1951: 1055:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume 310:Act to Restrain Abuses of Players 116:. Another well-known example is " 1899: 1898: 1039:, ch. 47; quoted in Hughes, 187. 631:"What does "Judas Priest" mean?" 396: 322:for "By God's foot" (1602), and 1042: 1029: 1004: 985: 966: 941: 923:Leland, Christopher T. (2002). 916: 888: 860: 833: 824: 815: 799: 790: 763: 720: 1837:Hypoalgesic effect of swearing 1155: 1079: 693: 623: 551: 316:for "By God's eyelid" (1598), 1: 1629: 948:Kilpatrick, James J. (1984). 385:changed pronunciation in the 336:). In the late 17th century, 1871:Profanity in science fiction 1090:. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. 545: 59: 7: 1011:Chirico, Rob (2016-05-12). 503: 428:for using the word "darn". 422:United States federal judge 10: 1956: 994:"Zounds! 5 cents a bottle" 453: 416:, probably as a result of 292:for "By God's blood" from 200: 195:a tone to mask profanities 1894: 1865:Profane Swearing Act 1694 1809: 1768: 1637: 1559: 1459: 1269: 1163: 1108:Oxford English Dictionary 1086:Hughes, Geoffrey (1991). 1060:Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 741:10.1017/s0017383500025584 672:Oxford English Dictionary 450:Literature and censorship 424:threatened a lawyer with 1317:Content-control software 1572:Chinese issues overseas 975:"Zounds! Is Reagan mad" 900:The Anatomy of Swearing 854:10.1111/1542-734x.00038 563:www.merriam-webster.com 300:for "God's light" from 266:New English Translation 1645:American Sign Language 1546:Suppression of dissent 872:Shakespeare's Language 471:The Naked and the Dead 389:, but the normal word 193:arose from the use of 163: 16:Euphemistic expression 1817:Expletive attributive 1312:Conspiracy of silence 1302:Collateral censorship 1227:Speech and expression 1037:The Moon and Sixpence 702:The Classical Journal 497:The Lord of the Rings 485:The Moon and Sixpence 456:Minced oaths in media 369:) came to be spelled 161:comes from the Dutch 1886:List of ethnic slurs 1822:Expletive infixation 1589:Muhammad controversy 1526:Naturalistic fallacy 1434:computer and network 252:'(God of) Hosts' or 1584:Internet censorship 1035:Maugham, Somerset. 1013:"When F--k Was Fug" 687:definition 12b for 434:James J. Kilpatrick 189:. In the same way, 1876:Scunthorpe problem 1521:Moralistic fallacy 1259:banned video games 1242:banned televisions 443:Spartanburg Herald 275:for Jesus (1528). 1912: 1911: 1881:Seven dirty words 1786:Expletive deleted 1597: 1596: 1579:Freedom of speech 1424:Strategic lawsuit 1374:National intranet 1322:Damnatio memoriae 1118:978-0-19-861186-8 731:. Second Series. 729:Greece & Rome 682:978-0-19-861186-8 525:Expletive deleted 468:. One example is 426:contempt of court 387:Great Vowel Shift 250:(’elohey) ṣᵉba’ot 1947: 1902: 1901: 1859:Pardon my French 1832:Four-letter word 1710:Mandarin Chinese 1624: 1617: 1610: 1601: 1600: 1536:Propaganda model 1164:Media regulation 1150: 1143: 1136: 1127: 1126: 1122: 1101: 1074: 1073: 1046: 1040: 1033: 1027: 1026: 1024: 1023: 1008: 1002: 1001: 989: 983: 982: 970: 964: 963: 950:The Writer's Art 945: 939: 938: 920: 914: 913: 892: 886: 885: 864: 858: 857: 848:(3/4): 260–269. 837: 831: 830:Hughes, 103–105. 828: 822: 819: 813: 812: 803: 797: 794: 788: 785: 779: 778: 767: 761: 760: 724: 718: 717: 697: 691: 686: 666: 660: 657: 648: 645: 639: 638: 637:on June 4, 2008. 627: 621: 618: 612: 609: 598: 597: 595: 593: 579: 573: 572: 570: 569: 555: 530:Four-letter word 492:J. R. R. Tolkien 480:Somerset Maugham 205:The Cretan king 166: 120:" rhyming with " 112:and then simply 72:. Thus the word 1955: 1954: 1950: 1949: 1948: 1946: 1945: 1944: 1935:Self-censorship 1915: 1914: 1913: 1908: 1890: 1805: 1781:Broadcast delay 1764: 1633: 1628: 1598: 1593: 1555: 1455: 1414:Self-censorship 1389:Prior restraint 1379:Newspaper theft 1364:Internet police 1297:Chilling effect 1287:Broadcast delay 1265: 1159: 1154: 1119: 1098: 1082: 1077: 1070: 1062:. p. 761. 1050:Tolkien, J.R.R. 1047: 1043: 1034: 1030: 1021: 1019: 1009: 1005: 990: 986: 971: 967: 960: 946: 942: 935: 921: 917: 910: 896:Montagu, Ashley 893: 889: 882: 865: 861: 838: 834: 829: 825: 820: 816: 805: 804: 800: 795: 791: 786: 782: 771:Fox, Michael V. 768: 764: 725: 721: 698: 694: 683: 667: 663: 658: 651: 646: 642: 629: 628: 624: 619: 615: 610: 601: 591: 589: 581: 580: 576: 567: 565: 557: 556: 552: 548: 506: 458: 452: 399: 242:’aylot haśśadeh 240:'gazelles' and 203: 62: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1953: 1943: 1942: 1937: 1932: 1927: 1910: 1909: 1907: 1906: 1895: 1892: 1891: 1889: 1888: 1883: 1878: 1873: 1868: 1861: 1856: 1851: 1846: 1839: 1834: 1829: 1827:Fighting words 1824: 1819: 1813: 1811: 1807: 1806: 1804: 1803: 1798: 1793: 1788: 1783: 1778: 1772: 1770: 1766: 1765: 1763: 1762: 1757: 1752: 1747: 1742: 1737: 1732: 1727: 1722: 1717: 1712: 1707: 1702: 1697: 1692: 1687: 1682: 1677: 1672: 1667: 1662: 1657: 1652: 1647: 1641: 1639: 1635: 1634: 1627: 1626: 1619: 1612: 1604: 1595: 1594: 1592: 1591: 1586: 1581: 1576: 1575: 1574: 1563: 1561: 1557: 1556: 1554: 1553: 1548: 1543: 1538: 1533: 1528: 1523: 1518: 1513: 1508: 1503: 1502: 1501: 1491: 1490: 1489: 1484: 1479: 1469: 1463: 1461: 1457: 1456: 1454: 1453: 1451:Word filtering 1448: 1443: 1442: 1441: 1436: 1426: 1421: 1416: 1411: 1406: 1401: 1396: 1391: 1386: 1381: 1376: 1371: 1366: 1361: 1359:Heckler's veto 1356: 1351: 1346: 1341: 1336: 1335: 1334: 1324: 1319: 1314: 1309: 1304: 1299: 1294: 1289: 1284: 1279: 1273: 1271: 1267: 1266: 1264: 1263: 1262: 1261: 1251: 1246: 1245: 1244: 1234: 1229: 1224: 1219: 1214: 1209: 1204: 1203: 1202: 1192: 1191: 1190: 1180: 1179: 1178: 1167: 1165: 1161: 1160: 1153: 1152: 1145: 1138: 1130: 1124: 1123: 1117: 1102: 1096: 1081: 1078: 1076: 1075: 1068: 1041: 1028: 1017:Slate Magazine 1003: 998:Herald-Journal 984: 979:Herald-Journal 965: 958: 940: 933: 915: 908: 887: 880: 868:Kermode, Frank 859: 832: 823: 814: 798: 789: 787:Hughes, 13–15. 780: 762: 735:(2): 135–151. 719: 692: 681: 661: 659:Hughes, 18–19. 649: 647:Hughes, 16–17. 640: 622: 613: 599: 574: 549: 547: 544: 543: 542: 537: 532: 527: 522: 517: 512: 510:Bowdlerization 505: 502: 454:Main article: 451: 448: 398: 395: 367:By God's truth 352:for "By God's 334:Christ's cross 273:"Gis" or "Jis" 254:(YHWH) ṣᵉba’ot 234:Michael V. Fox 202: 199: 186:Blankety Blank 61: 58: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1952: 1941: 1938: 1936: 1933: 1931: 1930:Interjections 1928: 1926: 1923: 1922: 1920: 1905: 1897: 1896: 1893: 1887: 1884: 1882: 1879: 1877: 1874: 1872: 1869: 1867: 1866: 1862: 1860: 1857: 1855: 1852: 1850: 1849:Maledictology 1847: 1845: 1844: 1840: 1838: 1835: 1833: 1830: 1828: 1825: 1823: 1820: 1818: 1815: 1814: 1812: 1808: 1802: 1799: 1797: 1794: 1792: 1789: 1787: 1784: 1782: 1779: 1777: 1774: 1773: 1771: 1767: 1761: 1758: 1756: 1753: 1751: 1748: 1746: 1743: 1741: 1738: 1736: 1733: 1731: 1730:Quebec French 1728: 1726: 1723: 1721: 1718: 1716: 1713: 1711: 1708: 1706: 1703: 1701: 1698: 1696: 1693: 1691: 1688: 1686: 1683: 1681: 1678: 1676: 1673: 1671: 1668: 1666: 1663: 1661: 1658: 1656: 1653: 1651: 1648: 1646: 1643: 1642: 1640: 1636: 1632: 1625: 1620: 1618: 1613: 1611: 1606: 1605: 1602: 1590: 1587: 1585: 1582: 1580: 1577: 1573: 1570: 1569: 1568: 1565: 1564: 1562: 1558: 1552: 1551:Systemic bias 1549: 1547: 1544: 1542: 1539: 1537: 1534: 1532: 1529: 1527: 1524: 1522: 1519: 1517: 1514: 1512: 1509: 1507: 1504: 1500: 1497: 1496: 1495: 1492: 1488: 1485: 1483: 1480: 1478: 1475: 1474: 1473: 1470: 1468: 1465: 1464: 1462: 1458: 1452: 1449: 1447: 1444: 1440: 1437: 1435: 1432: 1431: 1430: 1427: 1425: 1422: 1420: 1417: 1415: 1412: 1410: 1407: 1405: 1402: 1400: 1397: 1395: 1392: 1390: 1387: 1385: 1382: 1380: 1377: 1375: 1372: 1370: 1367: 1365: 1362: 1360: 1357: 1355: 1352: 1350: 1347: 1345: 1342: 1340: 1337: 1333: 1330: 1329: 1328: 1325: 1323: 1320: 1318: 1315: 1313: 1310: 1308: 1305: 1303: 1300: 1298: 1295: 1293: 1290: 1288: 1285: 1283: 1280: 1278: 1275: 1274: 1272: 1268: 1260: 1257: 1256: 1255: 1252: 1250: 1247: 1243: 1240: 1239: 1238: 1235: 1233: 1232:Student media 1230: 1228: 1225: 1223: 1220: 1218: 1215: 1213: 1210: 1208: 1205: 1201: 1200:circumvention 1198: 1197: 1196: 1193: 1189: 1186: 1185: 1184: 1181: 1177: 1174: 1173: 1172: 1169: 1168: 1166: 1162: 1158: 1151: 1146: 1144: 1139: 1137: 1132: 1131: 1128: 1120: 1114: 1110: 1109: 1103: 1099: 1097:0-631-16593-2 1093: 1089: 1084: 1083: 1071: 1069:9780547951942 1065: 1061: 1057: 1056: 1051: 1045: 1038: 1032: 1018: 1014: 1007: 999: 995: 988: 980: 976: 969: 961: 959:0-8362-7925-5 955: 951: 944: 936: 934:1-884910-55-6 930: 926: 919: 911: 909:0-8122-1764-0 905: 901: 897: 891: 883: 881:0-374-52774-1 877: 873: 869: 863: 855: 851: 847: 843: 836: 827: 818: 810: 809: 802: 793: 784: 776: 772: 766: 758: 754: 750: 746: 742: 738: 734: 730: 723: 715: 711: 708:(6): 29–298. 707: 703: 696: 690: 684: 678: 674: 673: 665: 656: 654: 644: 636: 632: 626: 617: 608: 606: 604: 588: 584: 578: 564: 560: 554: 550: 541: 538: 536: 535:Fuddle duddle 533: 531: 528: 526: 523: 521: 518: 516: 513: 511: 508: 507: 501: 499: 498: 493: 489: 487: 486: 481: 477: 476:Norman Mailer 473: 472: 467: 463: 457: 447: 445: 444: 440:Mad?" in the 439: 435: 431: 427: 423: 419: 415: 414: 409: 405: 397:Acceptability 394: 392: 388: 384: 380: 379: 374: 373: 368: 364: 363: 357: 355: 351: 350: 345: 341: 340: 335: 331: 327: 326: 321: 320: 315: 311: 307: 303: 299: 295: 291: 290: 285: 281: 276: 274: 269: 267: 263: 259: 255: 251: 247: 244:'wild does' ( 243: 239: 235: 231: 228: 224: 220: 216: 212: 208: 198: 196: 192: 188: 187: 182: 178: 174: 173:Cuthbert Bede 170: 165: 160: 159: 154: 153: 148: 144: 143: 138: 133: 131: 127: 123: 122:Berkeley Hunt 119: 115: 111: 110: 105: 101: 100:rhyming slang 97: 93: 89: 88: 83: 82: 77: 76: 71: 67: 57: 54: 52: 51: 46: 42: 38: 34: 30: 26: 22: 1863: 1853: 1841: 1776:Bleep censor 1446:Whitewashing 1429:Surveillance 1409:Sanitization 1384:Pixelization 1331: 1282:Book burning 1188:banned films 1176:books banned 1107: 1087: 1054: 1044: 1036: 1031: 1020:. Retrieved 1016: 1006: 997: 987: 978: 968: 949: 943: 924: 918: 899: 890: 871: 862: 845: 841: 835: 826: 817: 807: 801: 792: 783: 774: 765: 732: 728: 722: 705: 701: 695: 688: 671: 664: 643: 635:the original 625: 616: 590:. Retrieved 586: 577: 566:. Retrieved 562: 553: 495: 490: 483: 469: 459: 441: 429: 411: 400: 390: 382: 381:and related 376: 370: 366: 360: 358: 356:s" in 1709. 349:ods bodikins 347: 343: 337: 323: 317: 313: 305: 297: 287: 277: 270: 257: 253: 249: 241: 237: 232: 227:Aristophanes 218: 207:Rhadamanthus 204: 190: 184: 180: 176: 168: 156: 150: 146: 140: 136: 134: 130:Judas Priest 113: 109:Hampton Wick 107: 103: 95: 91: 85: 79: 73: 70:alliteration 63: 55: 48: 44: 20: 18: 1854:Minced oath 1638:By language 1511:LGBT issues 1506:Ideological 1494:Hate speech 1419:Speech code 1404:Revisionism 1369:Memory hole 1339:Expurgation 1332:Minced oath 1292:Censor bars 1254:Video games 1237:Televisions 1080:Works cited 821:Hughes, 13. 611:Hughes, 12. 408:Shakespeare 406:edition of 375:. The oath 294:Shakespeare 280:Elizabethan 78:can become 33:blasphemous 25:euphemistic 21:minced oath 1940:Euphemisms 1919:Categories 1801:Wordfilter 1725:Portuguese 1680:Hindi-Urdu 1567:Censorship 1560:By country 1516:Media bias 1394:Propaganda 1157:Censorship 1022:2022-09-21 620:Hughes, 7. 587:lutins.org 568:2021-01-04 466:censorship 302:Ben Jonson 262:El Shaddai 258:’el šadday 211:plane tree 197:on radio. 1925:Profanity 1843:Maledicta 1796:Swear jar 1715:Norwegian 1660:Esperanto 1650:Cantonese 1631:Profanity 1541:Religious 1472:Corporate 1349:Gag order 1327:Euphemism 1307:Concision 757:162219070 546:Footnotes 520:Euphemism 462:profanity 164:pappe kak 158:poppycock 60:Formation 1904:Category 1735:Romanian 1695:Japanese 1670:Georgian 1531:Politics 1482:Facebook 1467:Criminal 1460:Contexts 1354:Heckling 1277:Bleeping 1195:Internet 1052:(2012). 898:(2001). 870:(2001). 773:(1985). 592:12 April 540:Hlonipha 504:See also 410:'s play 325:gadzooks 306:'snails 298:'slight 264:'. The 215:Socrates 181:blankety 126:metrical 81:blooming 1791:Grawlix 1769:Devices 1760:Tagalog 1755:Swedish 1750:Spanish 1745:Sinhala 1740:Russian 1690:Italian 1685:Hokkien 1665:Finnish 1344:Fogging 1270:Methods 1249:Thought 714:3292805 515:Eggcorn 418:Puritan 413:Othello 372:strewth 362:'struth 354:bodkins 289:'sblood 284:Puritan 238:ṣᵉba’ot 201:History 177:blanked 114:Hampton 106:became 29:profane 1720:Polish 1700:Korean 1675:German 1499:Online 1487:Google 1212:Postal 1115:  1094:  1066:  956:  931:  906:  878:  755:  749:643226 747:  712:  679:  438:Reagan 430:Zounds 383:Wounds 378:Zounds 346:, and 344:oh God 342:meant 319:'sfoot 304:, and 246:Sg 2:7 223:Sirius 142:bloody 75:bloody 43:", or 1810:Other 1705:Latin 1655:Dutch 1477:Apple 1399:Purge 1222:Radio 1217:Press 1207:Music 1183:Films 1171:Books 753:S2CID 745:JSTOR 710:JSTOR 689:blank 404:Folio 391:wound 330:nails 314:'slid 278:Late 191:bleep 169:blank 104:prick 87:ruddy 84:, or 66:rhyme 45:fudge 37:taboo 35:, or 23:is a 1439:mass 1113:ISBN 1092:ISBN 1064:ISBN 954:ISBN 929:ISBN 904:ISBN 876:ISBN 677:ISBN 594:2024 339:egad 219:i.e. 179:and 152:fuck 149:for 139:for 118:cunt 96:damn 94:for 92:darn 68:and 50:fuck 47:for 850:doi 737:doi 332:on 145:or 41:God 1921:: 1058:. 1015:. 996:. 977:. 846:25 844:. 751:. 743:. 733:42 706:46 704:. 652:^ 602:^ 585:. 561:. 296:, 225:. 221:, 213:. 53:. 31:, 19:A 1623:e 1616:t 1609:v 1149:e 1142:t 1135:v 1121:. 1100:. 1072:. 1025:. 1000:. 981:. 962:. 937:. 912:. 884:. 856:. 852:: 811:. 759:. 739:: 716:. 685:. 596:. 571:. 365:( 260:' 147:f 137:b

Index

euphemistic
profane
blasphemous
taboo
God
fuck
rhyme
alliteration
bloody
blooming
ruddy
rhyming slang
Hampton Wick
cunt
Berkeley Hunt
metrical
Judas Priest
bloody
fuck
poppycock
Cuthbert Bede
Blankety Blank
a tone to mask profanities
Rhadamanthus
plane tree
Socrates
Sirius
Aristophanes
Michael V. Fox
Sg 2:7

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.