Why are "bad" words bad?

[Steven Russell]

Tits indeed, Claire. And anyway, really bad words are things like aggressiveness (aggression) and appropriateness (propriety) as used ad f*cking nauseum by my old boss.

Regards,
Steve.

[Chris]

Surely the answer is "Because it's wrong" (or alternatively "Because it's naughty").

[Victor]

Surely the answer is "Because it's wrong" (or alternatively "Because it's naughty").

Hi Chris,

Surely those are just synonyms for bad - therefore "bad" words are bad because they are bad.

KR,
Vic.

[Sally]

Alright, bad words are often bad because of context. Many such words relate to private activities - Fxxk, Sxxt, etc. Using them in public is inappropriate, so it becomes 'bad'.

Swear words - the ones with religious connotations, work in a similar way. Using them in a secular context is fundamentally taboo

Bloody, I'm sure everyone knows, is a swear word in origin. Nowadays, its a pretty mild expletive.

[Chris]

That was my attempt at a reference to popular culture (popular about a decade ago, anyway). I nearly didn't use it because I thought it might be too obscure. But it turned out to be the second hit on a Google search for the first of those phrases ...

[Stephen Thomas]

I remember being quite shocked when I visited the US in the 1960s and heard people merrily using the words c*cksucker and motherf*cker, both words being totally unknown in Britain then. Even now nobody here ever uses them. On the other hand, back then, the exclamation 'Sh*t or 'Oh, sh*t' was never used by Brits but it's certainly widely used here now.

Would I be right in thinking the 'polite' US word Jerk refers to 'unmentionable vices'.

[Victor]

That was my attempt at a reference to popular culture (popular about a decade ago, anyway). I nearly didn't use it because I thought it might be too obscure. But it turned out to be the second hit on a Google search for the first of those phrases ...

Ah sorry Chris, I'm not a Buffy buff.

KR,
Vic.

[Jenni Shelden]

so tempted to write "because they ******* are"

[mariab]

I'm a Buffy buf, and I totally dig it when British vampire Spike utters “bollocks“, “ninnies“, “We few, we happy few, we band of buggered“ – the latter (mis)quoting the Saint Crispin's Day speech from Henry V. (I guess it's all exotic to me, as I'm essentially closer to America than Britain.)

Protohistorian wrote:
Western culture, as a whole is riddled with class differentiation.
Actually, not really, and this tendency is definitely reclining since the mid 19th century. Eastern cultures (particularly Indian, Arabic, and Chinese) are even more strongly and suffocatingly defined by casts.

Tom Wescott wrote:
As well it should be. If one person makes an effort to better themselves and thereby the world around them, and another chooses to sit on their butt and mooch and be a useless layabout, then it is only natural that the world at large will value the former more than the latter and treat them accordingly. It's all about choice.
You're talking about meritocracy here, Tom, not class distinctions. Class is supposed to be by birth or acquired money from someone's family, so it's essentially non-merited privilege.
And now to read Lynn's early post, about which I'm very curious.

[Graham]

I remember being quite shocked when I visited the US in the 1960s and heard people merrily using the words c*cksucker and motherf*cker, both words being totally unknown in Britain then. Even now nobody here ever uses them. On the other hand, back then, the exclamation 'Sh*t or 'Oh, sh*t' was never used by Brits but it's certainly widely used here now.

Would I be right in thinking the 'polite' US word Jerk refers to 'unmentionable vices'.

You must have led a sheltered life, mate. c-o-c-k****** and Mother****er were both widely-used by the low-life I mingled with in the England of the 1960's, and how you can blandly say that s-h-i-t was never used as an exclamation by we Brits in them days just beats me. You're not a ******* vicar, are you?

Graham

[mariab]

Hmmm... I've been impressed by Lynn Cates before, more than once, but his posts in the beginning of this thread don't appear to me as anything out of the ordinary.
Hello Lynn,
did apostle Paul use the word “eschatos“ or something worse (as in “eschata“) in the letter in question? (Coincidentally, “eschatology“ has its provenance from the word “shit“ in Greek (“eschata“, today “schata“, “eschatos“ meaning “the lowest“ or “the lastest“).

[protohistorian]

They are bad because I f*cking said so! Don't make me pull this website over! Dave

[mariab]

I thought that “motherf*cker“ was essentially (black) American and not British, but possibly due to its having been popularized by rap, soon reaching MTV status in the 1990s. I thought that the Brits had their own select rich collection of fine insults and gestures.
Chris Phillips' reference to Btvs (“Because it's wrong“) was real! When I first saw it, I thought it a coincidence! I had no idea there are other fellow Buffy bufs on casebook, particularly from England, and such serious researchers too... Bet Chris' fave character in the show is Rupert Giles (alias The Ripper in his youth).

[lynn cates]

skubalon

Hello Maria.

"I've been impressed by Lynn Cates before . . ."

Why?

"his posts in the beginning of this thread don't appear to me as anything out of the ordinary."

Now you're talking.

I think the word used was "skubalon" (forgive the English script).

Cheers.
LC

[Chris]

Bet Chris' fave character in the show is Rupert Giles (alias The Ripper in his youth).

No - it has to be the character who gave "Manchester Bloody United" as his reason for averting the end of the world.