In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Susan Reishus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes > >I was taken aback at the Harry Potter movies and the "swear" words used, >though >I have British ancestry so was aware of what they implied. > On the other hand, once you know what the words actually mean, it can get quite hysterical listening to the usage the (mostly) teenagers (who either don't know or don't want to know) put them to - and applying their literal meaning! In this house, swearing is referred to as "engineering terminology" - and where DH is concerned, the milder the word, the more seriously he has hurt himself!
>I think swear words are much more common everywhere, and being of a middle >age, >and having previously been proper most of my life, have taken to using a word >or >two, as saying, "I am very upset" doesn't quite measure to a well chosen >expletive or two, that conveys it succinctly. I think that some of the rules >have more to do with man's laws and fear, than Divine Laws. <smile> I think that it is likely that the Victorian era (if not Cromwell) turned us all a bit prudish - after all, Chaucer had no problem with using "rough" language in The Canterbury Tales! As for ruddy, it more or less rhymes with bloody, which was taken to be an absolute "no-no" when I was younger (on a par with the f word now). Likewise "sugar" in place of "bugger" - it is not so much the word used, as the meaning put behind it, after all, sod is a lump of muddy grass! As Tamara said, we all kerbed our tongues when we had young children learning to talk - only to find that they picked up far worse when they went to school. -- Jane Partridge To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
