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Steve Hayes
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:18 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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On 29 Oct 2005 04:37:10 -0700, "Troy Steadman" <troysteadman@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:
| Quote: | But "hell" and "damn" equally have non-swear-word usage; unlike say the
F or C words. The phrase "A go-to-hell attitude" is not swearing. "Go
to hell!" is.
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Strictly speaking, "Go to hell" is not swearing but cursing, and differs only
in intensity from "May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits."
..
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:09 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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"Steve Hayes" <hayesmstw@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:hgn9m1tae7pi9ipbgbjgi79cll54mtec7s@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On 29 Oct 2005 04:37:10 -0700, "Troy Steadman"
troysteadman@yahoo.co.uk
wrote:
But "hell" and "damn" equally have non-swear-word usage; unlike say
the
F or C words. The phrase "A go-to-hell attitude" is not swearing. "Go
to hell!" is.
Strictly speaking, "Go to hell" is not swearing but cursing, and
differs only
in intensity from "May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your
armpits."
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First cussing I ever heard analyzed, and I don't know if my uncle was
correcting me, was in the form of a "dirty" joke.
It ended up (after cleaning) as "Cheese and crackers got all muddy". I
believe others here have referred to this line.
Second story involve a good deal of impudence on the part of the child.
After the pastor remonstrated with him about using the Lord's name in
vain, the boy said, "Well, Father. I don't know why I shouldn't talk
that way. You do it all the time in church."
"Son, if you can catch me talking like that in church, I will give you
an apple pie."
So, the next Sunday, the preacher was waxing eloquent in his sermon,
ending with: "By God we live and by God we die".
And the boy stood up and shouted, "By God I get my apple pie".
I think the boy's usage qualifies as swearing, oath-taking. |
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Steve Hayes
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 1:32 am
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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On Sun, 30 Oct 2005 13:47:36 +0000, John Hall <nospam_nov03@jhall.co.uk>
wrote:
| Quote: | In article <JI4a+Lm3cMZDFw+J@molly.mockford>,
Molly Mockford <nospamnobody@mollymockford.me.uk> writes:
Hell's bells!
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Bloody hell!
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
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Tony Mountifield
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:05 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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In article <Eip9f.141223$G8.117509@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk>,
MS <matthews@mailsnare.---nojunktakeout---.net> wrote:
| Quote: |
While we're on this subject, do readers think of the phrase 'I was really
pissed off' as swearing?
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Yes, definitely.
| Quote: | Original Poster -- In US English this looses the 'off' to become 'I was
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.... loses ... (unless you mean "sets free")
| Quote: | really pissed', while retaining the same meaning i.e. angry. In British
English 'I was really pissed' means 'I was really drunk'.
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Cheers
Tony
--
Tony Mountifield
Work: tony@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk
Play: tony@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org |
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MS
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:30 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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Mike Stevens emailed this:
| Quote: | Here's a genuine quote I heard from an old fellow in a pub I used to
frequent with my late father-in-law. Said chap, know to the other locals as
"Deaf Fred" had spent some years of his youth, several decades before, in
Australia, and on one occasion said "That be a terrible place, that
Australia. They calls one another a bastard as easy as you & I calls one
another a bugger".
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Many thanks for a nice story. |
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MS
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:50 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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It's all a matter of context. In the context you've described I do not
think it is swearing, just a means of describing that you were annoyed by
the attitude taken by the other person in the business conversation. If my
girlfriend were to reprimand me for my use of the term 'go to hell
attitude', I would probably tell her to 'go to hell' or something a touch
stronger.
While we're on this subject, do readers think of the phrase 'I was really
pissed off' as swearing?
Original Poster -- In US English this looses the 'off' to become 'I was
really pissed', while retaining the same meaning i.e. angry. In British
English 'I was really pissed' means 'I was really drunk'.
Subba Rao emailed this:
| Quote: | Hello everyone,
I was narrating a business conversation to my girlfriend. I have
mentioned that the business dealing lead me to a "Go to hell" attitude.
She asked me not to use those swear words. I did not know that "Go to
hell" was a swear word/phrase. I am under the impression that the
F-word, s**t word etc, were considered swear words.
Could someone please correct me if I am wrong? Thank you in advance for
any clarification.
Regards,
PS - I live in the US and thus use American English. |
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John Briggs
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:02 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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MS wrote:
| Quote: |
Original Poster -- In US English this looses the 'off' to become 'I
was really pissed', while retaining the same meaning i.e. angry. In
British English 'I was really pissed' means 'I was really drunk'.
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Perhaps I could mention the loose use of "loose" for "lose"?
--
John Briggs |
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MS
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:25 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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John Briggs emailed this:
| Quote: | MS wrote:
Original Poster -- In US English this looses the 'off' to become 'I
was really pissed', while retaining the same meaning i.e. angry. In
British English 'I was really pissed' means 'I was really drunk'.
Perhaps I could mention the loose use of "loose" for "lose"?
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No, you should be above that. 
How embarrassing, I feel like I've been 'named and shamed'. |
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MS
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:29 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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Tony Mountifield emailed this:
| Quote: |
Original Poster -- In US English this looses the 'off' to become 'I was
... loses ... (unless you mean "sets free")
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Thank you for the 'get out' (pun intended), I did indeed mean to 'set
free' the 'off'. |
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JF
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:50 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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In message <Eip9f.141223$G8.117509@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk>, MS
<matthews@mailsnare.---nojunktakeout---.net> writes
| Quote: | While we're on this subject, do readers think of the phrase 'I was
really pissed off' as swearing?
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Hardly. Some might get pissoir'd off at top-posting, though.
--
James Follett |
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John Briggs
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:59 pm
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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MS wrote:
| Quote: | John Briggs emailed this:
MS wrote:
Original Poster -- In US English this looses the 'off' to become 'I
was really pissed', while retaining the same meaning i.e. angry. In
British English 'I was really pissed' means 'I was really drunk'.
Perhaps I could mention the loose use of "loose" for "lose"?
No, you should be above that.
How embarrassing, I feel like I've been 'named and shamed'.
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as if...
--
John Briggs |
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Martin Willett
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:04 am
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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Donna Richoux wrote:
| Quote: | John Hall <nospam_nov03@jhall.co.uk> wrote:
In article <JI4a+Lm3cMZDFw+J@molly.mockford>,
Molly Mockford <nospamnobody@mollymockford.me.uk> writes:
At 07:57:34 on Sun, 30 Oct 2005, Robert Lieblich
robert.lieblich@verizon.net> wrote in <4364C33E.75DFF94F@verizon.net>:
Charles Riggs wrote:
The expression may be, but the girlfriend's mistake was to infer that
"hell" is a swear word. It may have been in the distant past in a
number of contexts, but no longer. "Go to hell" is one of the few
contexts I can think of where the word is part of a swear. "To hell
with you" is another, but that's about it.
Oh, hell! I thought there were more.
Hell's teeth! So did I.
Hell's bells!
...and buckets of blood! (A very satisfying oath.)
"Get the hell out of here. What the hell do you think you're doing?" I
suppose many people intensify that to "fuck" nowadays.
About the mildest I can think of is "hell of a," as in "he's a helluva
guy." Which is praise, of course.
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A lot of things get intensified to fuck these days.
How are you Sebastian old bean?
Intensified to fuck, thanks for asking you old fart.
--
Martin Willett
http://mwillett.org |
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Molly Mockford
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 5:31 am
Post subject: Re: Go to hell - Is this swearing? |
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At 15:53:04 on Sun, 30 Oct 2005, Donna Richoux <trio@euronet.nl> wrote
in <1h594bp.1jcgiwk14loi4mN%trio@euronet.nl>:
| Quote: | About the mildest I can think of is "hell of a," as in "he's a helluva
guy." Which is praise, of course.
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Which can also mutate, of course...
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Yes, it was certainly one HELL of a job that he did 
--
Molly Mockford
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) |
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