I used to swear a lot. I decided to not swear at all (except for possibly mild swears), instead replacing most swears with minced oaths.
My family is Christian and I would get yelled at for swearing even if it just slipped out. So far, I don’t swear unless I’m feeling a strong emotion or acting impulsively, but I’ll usually say things like “F/eff” or “fudge” instead of the F-word.
I like to be “creative”, so my go-tos are usually “Go fudge yourself”, or “What the cluck?”
I might say “mother lover” instead of MF
My favourite is to exclaim “Shut the front door!” in conversation.
Swearing is brilliant if you smash your thumb with a hammer, or break something expensive. If you swear all the time in normal conversation you don’t have any special words left to use when those things I mentioned happen.
I disagree. Swearing a useful expressive tool.
Just don’t overuse it and know situations where it’s best not used.
I don’t know about that, MOTHER LOVER DOOM just doesn’t hit right.
I do not understand the reason for swearing being considered bad.
I do not understand why replacement words are better.
If it were the specific sounds being made that are wrong, replacement words would make sense. However, since other languages have no prohibition on these words and may have words that sound the same/similar to swear words in another language.
If the meaning behind the words was the ‘bad’ part, then replacing those word with other words that express the same idea would be just as wrong.
Who determines which words are bad? If it’s a cultural thing I guess it makes sense but a person is fickle and groups of them even more so. I still don’t understand why a group would prohibit specific words but not their meanings (barring superstition, like in the case of the origin of word “bear”). If it were a deity of some kind, it makes me return to the question why specific words in specific languages but not the meaning and intent behind those words.
I’m decently sure profanity became known as such because of either religious reasons or class division (along the lines of peasants vs nobles from early/medieval europe) and it just became commonplace.
I would say profanity nowadays though is a lot less taboo. It’s been normalized in culture (hip hop, city culture, punk subculture) and a lot of people are less religious nowadays.
I don’t have a thing against swearing but I do sometimes say heck instead of fuck
Mixing it up can be fun. “Gosh fucking darn it” usually gets some sideways looks.
I play it the other way. I’m pretty polite and well spoken most of the time, so when I bust out with “You cock gobbling rotten foetus fucker” it usually gets a good response.
There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad intentions, and wooooords.
– George Carlin
If you’re using direct replacement words and the sentiment is the same, what’s the point?
“Freak!”
I’m trying not to curse but when you fix things for a living you curse a lot.
Fuck no! I always found it funny how communities find specific words offensive and look down upon people that use them. Context is important, of course, but the vast majority of cases I witness people swearing are non malicious in nature. (Don’t get me wrong, there are absolutely words/phrases I will never say; again, context is key here)
Coming up with alternative words for the same intent is super silly to me, too. The individual makes it very clear they are aware of the “rules” and are making an asserted attempt to sidestep them. Why bother with all that effort and not simply use the intended word instead?
Right, it’s the intent and context of the word that could be offensive, not the word itself. Using substitutes doesn’t change how you’re conveying your emotions.
Besides, OP, do you think Jesus wasn’t swearing when he was overturning the money changers tables in the tabernacle? He was clearly PISSED. He was definitely rebuking them, same difference.
Swearing isn’t sinful, it’s what you’re cursing/being hateful about that could be.
Now, if you’re intentionally not swearing due to a personal choice or by virtue of being intentionally different to not be like the culture you’re in then that’s different.
I don’t exactly talk like a sailor but I don’t censor myself either. I think swearing is much less of a big deal in my culture than it seems to be in conservative America. For example, bleeped-out words on TV or radio are not a thing here. I have not and will never use any “replacement words”, those just seem forced and silly to me.
Oh nice! That makes sense. My grandfather and dad are conservative, so I think it’s kind of a force of habit to me
Forking shirtballs, The Good Place has the best replacement words.
Fuck, which becomes Fork. Shit, which becomes Shirt. Bitch, which becomes Bench. Ass, which becomes Ash. Dick, which becomes Deck. Cock, which becomes Cork.I forking love this
On those last two, watch this old ad
High quality stuff
When I was in high school, I was very anti-authority and swore all the time to be “against the man”. When I started working in day care I had to cut out all swearing all the time because it was too automatic to ONLY stop in front of kids. When I got a real job, I continued my no-swearing bend as a general rule because – at least until you get to know the people around you – people will treat you with more respect if you don’t sound like a foul mouthed low life.
Swearing all the time for no reason is a very low-rent affect. Letting out a rare swear will add considerable emphasis when your peers know it is not your normal behavior. Always swear when you hurt yourself. It helps.
I’m trying to swear less. Or rather, to swear only where a swear is warranted.
My Dad has a habit of interjecting constant cuss words into everything he says, like “I was at the fucking supermarket right and then I’m just trying to find a fucking tin of beans…” and it’s just so unnecessary, to the point where the swears mean nothing because they are just peppered everywhere. I have to keep reminding him, “Dad, please tone it down a little”
And that’s an easy habit to get into but its exactly what I don’t want to be doing - swearing just as punctuation.
If a situation calls for a swear then I will swear quite happily, “Ouch, my fucking toe!!” and I’ll use the proper word. There’s no need to find childish swear-alternatives.
But I don’t want to sound like I can’t even stop it.
100%. I’m trying to swear less just to avoid the punctuation-level swearing that feels childish to me. But replacement swear words that have the same sentiment feel even more childish and pointless to me.
Yeah I find prepositional F-bombs to be annoyingly juvenile. I remember lots of people in highschool who would get a mind blank and go
“Like…fuggin… Whatever” to connect their thoughts lol.
An “um” is okay. LOL I’ve had to somewhat train this out of myself too… As my mind randomly blanks mid-thought quite often lol.
Personally, I try not to swear even when I stub my toe… but it’s quite difficult sometimes. When I do swear, I want it to be a deliberate decision.
Jesus fucking Christ! Learn to think for yourself! There is no such thing as “good words” and “bad words”. There are just words.
* Except the ‘n-word’.
The word itself isn’t bad. In fact, many languages use the equivalent word as a regular part of their vocabulary. What’s bad is the intention and history behind it. Using a racial slur isn’t wrong because of the word being said, but rather because of the intention to offend or demean the people it’s used toward.
