Swearing

I can't remember my father ever swearing (he died when I was 15) but he could argue black was white, and prove it! I never heard my mother swear till after I was married. I was helping her make the beds one day and she knocked a medicine bottle off a bedside table and it landed on her toe. She came out with "Bugger, shit, damn" and I collapsed on the bed, convulsed with laughter

GrandmaKT I take your point about adults reading swear words and not being too bothered, but children do read newspapers too - even the Times. Newspapers are also used in schools to cover desks for art and science lessons and I don't think teachers and teaching assistants would be too thrilled at having to check the pages first for inappropriate language.

Although there might be a use for them when discussing vocabulary in secondary school.

I've never been a swearer, wasn't brought up with it or my ex H used it. So it has been a huge surprise and shock for my DS to use it like it had gone out of fashion. I told him regularly to stop but he didn't and it was directed at me at times, very offensive words, so no, I don't take kindly to swearing these days.

ga, I think most teenagers, and even older primary school kids, know far more swear words than many adults. Schools discourage their use and teach the kids to speak politely but among themselves even those teenagers who come across to sdults as "delightful" use plenty of swear words with verve. Often it's actually quite funny.

It doesn't bother me. It's just part of their youthful experimentation. Most of them know perfectly well when it's not appropriate to use swear words and don't.

As for teachers checking newspapers that get soread on paiting tables: I can remember doing that but it was the pictures that I sometimes felt needed hiding from innocent eyes.

spread

and a few other typos too!

DH swears like a trouper when driving. At other drivers, the road, the car, traffic lights... But rarely at other times unless really provoked. I try to save the best words for special occasions such as the stubbed toe or dropped cake.

But we both use the Norfolk dialect bugger which is more a term of affection. As in "Cum yew here, yew silly ole bugger" when giving a hug to someone who's upset. I think this is used in most of East Anglia and also the West Country. Perhaps that's why the two accents are confused.

merlotgran you've just made my day I don't mind swear words in a joke, used in frustration, even anger. There's a time and place when they can be appropriate.

My late mum used to say the "bugger" word occasionally even though she could not even bring herself to say simple (non swear) words like bum, boobs,breasts, willy, penis etc. she couldn't even say pregnant and had to say expecting. I often wondered how she thought "bugger" was acceptable and other words (mainly body parts) weren't?

I remember when my little grandson announced that "someone's farted" she practically had an attack. Eventually (when she calmed herself) she told him he must never say that dirty word and must say "pumpied" instead. Much to the amusement of the children .

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I don't think they knew what buggar meant. It was in very common use. Have noticed the c word is slipping into plays on TV. Used in National Treasure a few times. Not comfortable with that. F word so.everyday now, especially with the young in the street. It still jars.

My mum definitely didn't know what bugger meant LullyDully she would have been shocked and would have never used it. My mum was one of those ladies who used code words for intimate body parts and it was like a game trying to decipher what she was trying to tell you. Her other favourite was referring to body parts as "your bits" or "your thingymebob" Lots of hand movements and pointing too.

"Down there" or "your you know whaty" were other favourites too.

Bloomin heck no wonder I'm totally screwed up.

I was horrified when my 9 year old grandson came out of school and announced that one of his classmates had used the c word. I told him I was shocked and that nobody should ever use that word. He then said I" know but Daddy says it sometimes." You can only imagine my relief when that word turned out to be crap

I can be a bit sweary but -rarely- never in front of Dgc

I don't swear, never have, the o.h. does, but not in front of me or the children. My mum was a bit like gilly's she would never call a blue tit, a blue tit! My son in law uses the odd word, and my daughter probably does, but not in my presence, our grandchildren are teenagers, and one once swore whilst in our home and was promptly told that that does not happen when we are around. Respect!

By his father not us.

Love it purlpledaffodil, I think it's often the context which makes swearing worse, if it's a result of an accident or similar it's ok but not when directed at another person. It's always worse if it's a person in a position of authority swearing at someone who is less powerful. Think the ' c ' and ' f ' words are not acceptable at all.

I agree that context is all. I think that saying a teenager can't use certain words in front of his grandparents, even when the teenager is not swearing at anyone is as patronising as a newspaper putting asterisks instead of some letters. It's not as if we don't know the words.

How a word is used is the most important decider of whether it is rude, c/f examples such as saying fuck when you drop a hammer on your toe compared to angrily telling someone to fuck off. The two uses are completely different. One is rude and one isn't.

It's rudeness (deliberate offensiveness) that's the problem.

I'm appalled at how often I seem to swear when I'm driving I nearly let one slip out when I had my granddaughter in the car, but managed to change it to something else mid word. Bad Grandma My husband's far worse, but only around me and our boys, cos they're just as bad. Other than that his language is exemplary around others, positively good enough to take tea with the vicar, not so much as a "b****cks" passes his lips. Do so love that word, just rolls off the tongue. Joking aside, I do think bad language should not be used around all and sundry and certainly not in public when it may offend.

Yes, context is all important "Silly o'l bugger" and "bugger off" when I'm told it's my round, are terms of endearment, but "bugger off" to someone that is annoying me is not.
This is where someone like myself can be misunderstood on GN (wasn't there a song about being misunderstood in West Side Story ?)

Yes, Officer Krupke! Complete lyrics here:
www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/lyrics/krupke.html