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1 introduction
Many languages have words which are considered dangerous, holy, magic or shocking, and which are only used in certain situations or by certain people. For instance, in some African tribes, the names of dead chiefs must not be said; in many cultures, words associated with religious beliefs are used only on religious occasions, or only by priests. Words of this kind can be called ‘taboo words’.
English has three main groups of taboo words and expressions:
1. A number of words connected with the Christian religion (e.g. the names Christ, God) are considered holy by some people. These people prefer to use such words only in formal and respectful contexts, and they may be upset or shocked by their ‘careless’ use.
2. Certain words relating to sexual activity and the associated parts of the body (e.g. fuck, balls) are regarded as shocking by many people. Thirty or forty years ago, some of these words could not be printed or broadcast, and they are still comparatively unusual in public speech and writing. In polite or formal language, these words are generally avoided or replaced by other words and expressions (e.g. make love or have sexual intercourse, testicles).
3. Some words referring to the elimination of bodily wastes (what one does in the lavatory), and the associated parts of the body, are regarded as ‘dirty’ or shocking (e.g. piss, shit). They are often replaced by more ‘polite’ words and expressions with the same meaning (e.g. urinate, defecate) or by substitutes (e.g. go to the lavatory, wash one’s hands).
Because taboo words are shocking, they are common in situations where people want to express powerful emotions by using ‘strong’ language. This is called swearing. When people swear, taboo words usually change their meanings completely. For example, fuck off and piss off have nothing to do with sex or urinating — they are simply violently rude ways of saying ‘go away’. The strength of the original taboo word is borrowed for a different purpose.
Linguistic taboos in English-speaking countries are less strong than they used to be. Most taboo words and swearwords shock less than they did, say, twenty years ago. And increasingly, people are using informal taboo words which are felt to be amusingly ‘naughty’ rather than shocking, such as bonk instead of fuck, or willy instead of prick (= penis).
Nonetheless, students should be very careful about using taboo words and swearwords. There are two reasons for this. First of all, it is not easy to know the exact strength of these expressions in a foreign language, or to know what kind of people are shocked by them, and in what circumstances. One may easily say something that is meant as a joke, but which seriously upsets the people one is talking to. And secondly, using this sort of language generally indicates membership of a group: one most often swears in the company of people one knows well, who belong to one’s own social circle, age group etc. (Children usually avoid swearing in front of adults so as not to annoy or shock them, and adults avoid swearing in front of children for similar reasons.) So a foreigner who uses swearwords may give the impression of claiming membership of a group to which they do not belong.
2 taboo words
The following are some of the most common English taboo words, with explanations of their literal meanings where necessary. Their approximate ‘strength’ is shown by stars: a one-star word like hell will not upset many people, while a three- or four-star word may be very shocking if it is used in the wrong situation. Note, however, that individual reactions to particular words (and to swearing in general) vary enormously, and that attitudes are changing rapidly; people are likely to disagree a good deal about the strength of the words listed.
The words associated with religion are not considered shocking when used with their literal meaning, and the stars show their strength when used as swearwords. The strength of the other words is mostly the same whether they are used literally or for swearing.
Religion
taboo word meaning
damn * condemn to hell (rare in literal sense; mainly used as swearword)
blast * (GB) strike with divine punishment (rare in literal sense; mainly used as swearword)
hell *
God *
Jesus **
Christ **
Parts of the body
taboo word meaning
arse *** bottom, buttocks, anus (US ass **)
arsehole *** anus (US asshole **)
balls *** testicles
bollocks *** (GB) testicles
cock *** penis
dick *** penis
prick *** penis
tits *** breasts
cunt **** woman’s sex organs
Sexual activity
taboo word meaning
fuck *** have sex (with)
wank *** masturbate (have sex with oneself) (US jerk off ***)
bugger *** (GB) have anal intercourse with a person or animal; person who does so
come ** reach a sexual climax (orgasm)
sod ** (GB) homosexual (abbreviation of sodomite; rare in literal sense)
bitch ** female dog; earlier used for ‘immoral’ woman
whore ** prostitute
bastard ** child of unmarried parents
Lavatory
taboo word meaning
piss *** urine; urinate
shit *** excrement; defecate
crap ** excrement; defecate
fart ** let digestive gas out from the anus
3 swearwords
All of the words listed above, and a few others, are used in swearing. The meaning of a swearword is always different from its literal (taboo) meaning (see introduction above). Compare:
What are you doing fucking in my bed? (= Why are you making love in my bed? — literal meaning of fucking)
What are you fucking doing in my bed? (= Why the hell are you in my bed?—fucking used as a swearword)
The meaning of a swearword can also change with its grammatical form. For instance, piss off is an aggressive way of saying go away; pissed is British slang for drunk; pissed off is British slang for fed up. Many swearwords are grammatically very flexible. Fucking, for example, can act both as an adjective (e.g. fucking idiot) and as an intensifying adverb (e.g. fucking good, fucking soon, it’s fucking raining, fucking well shut up). Swearwords are the only words in the language that have this grammatical range. The following list shows some of the most common expressions used in swearing; they are grouped according to meaning.
a exclamation of annoyance
Damn (it)! Hell! Bugger (it)! (GB)
Blast (it)! (My) God! Sod (it)! (GB)
God damn it! Jesus! Shit!
God damn! Christ! Fuck (it)!
(especially US) Jesus Christ!
Examples of use:
Damn it! Can’t you hurry up?
Christ! It’s raining again!
Oh, fuck! I’ve lost the address!
b exclamation of surprise
(My) God! Jesus! Christ! Jesus Christ!
God damn! (especially US) Well, I’ll be damned!
Son of a bitch! (especially US) Damn me! Bugger/Fuck me! (GB)
Well, I’m damned/buggered! (GB)
Examples of use:
My God! Look at that!
Well, I’m damned! What are you doing here?
Bugger me! There’s Mrs Smith. I thought she was on holiday.
c surprised question
Who/What/Why etc the hell...? (US also... in hell...?)
Who/What/Why etc the fuck...?
Examples of use:
What the hell do you think you’re doing?
Where the fuck are the car keys?
d insult (noun)
Note that these nouns generally have no real meaning. They simply express a strong emotion such as hatred, anger, envy or contempt.
bastard shit son of a bitch (US)
fart sod (GB) asshole (US)
prick bugger (GB) motherfucker (US)
fucker wanker (GB) cocksucker (US)
cunt bitch (applied to women) dickhead (= ‘idiot’)
Examples of use:
You bastard! Lucky sod! Stupid old fart.
He’s a real prick. Stupid fucker! She’s such a bitch!
That guy’s a real asshole!
e insult (imperative verb + object)
Damn...! Blast...! (GB) Sod...! (GB)
Bugger...! (GB) Fuck...! Screw...!
Examples of use:
Damn that child! Fuck you! Screw the government!
f insulting request to go away
Fuck off! Bugger off! (GB) Screw you!
Piss off! Sod off! (GB)
Examples of use:
‘Can I have a word with you?’ ‘Fuck off!’
If Andy comes asking for money, tell him to piss off
g expression of unconcern (= ‘I don’t care’)
I don’t give a damn/shit/fuck - a bugger (GB).
Examples of use:
They can come and arrest me if they want to. I don’t give a fuck.
‘Mary’s very angry with you.’ ‘I don’t give a bugger.’
h violent refusal/rejection/defiance
(I’ll be) damned/fucked if I will! Get stuffed! (GB)
Buggered if I will! (GB) Balls!
Stuff it (up your arse)! (GB) Balls to...! (GB)
Stuff it up your ass! (US) Bollocks! (GB)
Examples of use:
‘Mr Parsons wants you to clean out the lavatories.’ ‘Fucked if I will!’
‘Management are offering another £8 a week.’ ‘They can stuff it.’
‘Give me a kiss.’ ‘Get stuffed!’
‘You’re afraid to fight.’ ‘Balls!’
Balls to the lot of you! I’m going home.
i intensifying adjective / adverb (used to emphasise an emotion)
damn(ed) goddam (US) blasted (GB) fucking
bloody (GB) sodding (GB) bleeding (GB)
Bloody has no literal taboo equivalent in modern English.
Examples of use:
That car’s going damn(ed) fast. She’s a fucking marvellous singer.
Where’s the bloody switch? Put the fucking cat out!
It’s bloody raining again.
When these words are used before verbs, the word well is often added in British English.
I damn well hope you never come back.
I’m not fucking well paying this time.
It’s bloody well raining again.
miscellaneous
Fuck (up), screw (up) and bugger (up) (GB) can mean ‘ruin’, ‘spoil’ or ‘destroy’.
Somebody’s fucked up the TV. You’ve buggered my watch.
Fucked and buggered can mean ‘exhausted’ (GB).
‘Want another game of tennis?’ ‘No, I’m fucked.’
Screw (especially US) can mean ‘cheat’.
Don’t buy a car from that garage — they’ll screw you.
Cock up (GB), balls up (GB), fuck up and screw up can be used as verbs or nouns to refer to mistakes of organisation.
(When used as nouns, they are often written with hyphens.)
That bloody secretary’s cocked up my travel arrangements.
Sorry you didn’t get your invitation — Mary made a balls-up.
The conference was a complete fuck-up.
Well, we really screwed up this time, didn’t we?
Balls (GB), bullshit (US) and crap are used to mean ‘nonsense’.
‘What’s his new book like?’ ‘A load of balls.’ Don’t talk crap!
In American English, shit can mean ‘lies’ or ‘nothing’.
‘Janie’s getting married.’ ‘No shit?’
He don’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. He don’t know shit.
Bugger/fuck/damn/sod all are used in British English to mean ‘nothing’.
There’s fuck all in the fridge. We’ll have to eat out.
In British English, pissed means ‘drunk’ and pissed off means ‘fed up’.
Steve was pissed out of his mind again last night.
I’m getting pissed off with London.
In American English, pissed is ‘annoyed’, ‘angry’.
I’m pissed at him because of what he’s been saying about me.
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