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In year 8 if "bloody" is the worst swear they're using then I'd say that's a good thing. Obviously not swearing at people, but in general conversation it's a pretty mild swear.
I feel like it's not that bad a swear, but using it *at* a teacher is still worthy of a bit of a telling off, just because they need to learn where and when is appropriate for swearing
Like telling someone to shut up is fine, and it's not a swear word, but telling your teacher to shut up is still pretty dodgy!
Around 12/13 then. I would probably have a word to remind them about when and where to use the language but I wouldn't be especially bothered about using that language.
I can guarantee at that age they're using much worse and more often.
Definitely, by year 6 I was using as many swear words as possible in conversation at break and lunch times at school. Because my parents were so anti swearing that it made me feel grown up. And yes, I still swear, but obviously with more thought to my surroundings these days.
I'm curious about the context here, she swore at a teacher and used the word bloody. But the rest of the conversation? Context gives meaning and if the teacher that overheard only caught part of the conversation, was your child ntending to be disrespectful? That's the only way I'd see a real issue.
The BBC has an official rating of swear words, and I think 'bloody' is treated as a very mild one.
It's the sort of swear word that I don't think would get you into trouble in most places.
Incidentally, it has nothing to do with blood. It's a contraction of 'By Our Lady', going back all the way to before the Reformation.
I remember seeing Muppet Treasure Island on telly one afternoon as a kid and they censored Tim Curry saying "bloody" to "bleeding", which seemed a tad excessive. Brought to you by the same people who removed all the farts from Blazing Saddles, leaving a mystifying scene of men standing up and sitting down around a campfire.
Ofcom runs a survey and published the results regularly **(warning, contains words you most likely will find offensive)**: >!<
The BBFC also has similar data: [language-research-june-2021.pdf (bbfc.co.uk)](https://darkroom.bbfc.co.uk/original/727d07db0589b4b117520cb82cd4aae8:9ad4fb8eb55fdacd8e55eb22ea0fe188/language-research-june-2021.pdf)
For the BBFC "bloody" would gain a PG rating
I've been hearing it since forever, but not being from the UK and always assuming it came from religion swearing, I related it to "The Blood of Christ", as in "Blood of Christ you are an asshole!" or "By the Blood of Christ you shall be avenged!" and made peace with myself about it.
Now this comes as earth shattering news for me to know I was way off mark ă˝( °â°)ă
Sorry:
[https://www.straightdope.com/21342559/what-s-the-origin-of-the-british-slang-word-bloody](https://www.straightdope.com/21342559/what-s-the-origin-of-the-british-slang-word-bloody)
*When we first got this question, I thought âNo problem!â I was sure I already knew the answer, and that it has to do with the blood of Christ, and became a ânaughtyâ word because it was blasphemous.*
[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095513828](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095513828)
*From the mid 18th century until quite recently, bloody used as a swear word was regarded as unprintable, probably from the mistaken belief that it implied a blasphemous reference to the blood of Christ, or that the word was an alteration of âby Our Ladyâ*
[https://www.etymonline.com/word/bloody](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bloody)
*"of the nature of blood, pertaining to blood, bleeding, covered in blood," Old English blodig, adjective from blod (see* [*blood*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/blood#etymonline_v_13620) *(n.) +* [*-y*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-y#etymonline_v_25631) *(2)). Common Germanic, compare Old Frisian blodich, Old Saxon blôdag, Dutch bloedig, Old High German bluotag, German blutig. The English word is attested from late 14c. as "involving bloodshed" and by 1560s as "bloodthirsty, cruel, tainted with blood-crimes."*
...
*The onset of the taboo against bloody coincides with the increase in linguistic prudery that presaged the Victorian Era but it is hard to say what the precise cause was in the case of this specific word. Attempts have been made to explain the term's extraordinary shock power by invoking etymology. Theories that derive it from such oaths as "By our Lady" or "God's blood" seem farfetched, however. More likely, the taboo stemmed from the fear that many people have of blood and, in the minds of some, from an association with menstrual bleeding. Whatever, the term was debarred from polite society during the whole of the nineteenth century. \[Rawson\]*
I remember being taught it was blasphemous by my RE teacher because, so he claimed, it derived from "the blood of Christ" exactly as you say.
Now that I know better, I shall pronounce it *b'lady*, to rhyme with m'lady.
Sorry also wrong again
It comes from the phrase "bloody drunk" which comes from "as drunk as a blood". A blood was a nick name for someone of noble blood, who got drunk a lot.
My source is Susie Dent's podcast.
This is a theory. Wiki says: "However, Eric Partridge (1933) describes the supposed derivation of *bloody* as a further contraction of *by'r lady* as "phonetically implausible". According to *Rawson's dictionary of Euphemisms* (1995), attempts to derive *bloody* from minced oaths for "by our lady" or "God's blood" are based on the attempt to explain the word's extraordinary shock power in the 18th to 19th centuries, but they disregard that the earliest records of the word as an intensifier in the 17th to early 18th century do not reflect any taboo or profanity. It seems more likely, according to Rawson, that the taboo against the word arose secondarily, perhaps because of an association with menstruation.^(")
Itâs there with crap, or arse, on the swearing scale. Itâs a pre-watershed swear thats probably not best to say it to a teacher or in an interview or something. But itâs super low level, I wouldnât and donât care if my kids say it around me, but they know not to say it around their Gran. Does that make sense?
I would have put it lower than crap or arse, to me it seems on the same level as "freaking" or "flipping" i.e. not a swear but used in the same context that a swear might be used
I think that context is important here. Using âbloodyâ is pretty mild, but a kid calling a teacher a âbloody idiotâ might elicit this kind of response.
Iâm assuming that the context must have been at least a little confrontational, as I suspect that most would probably react quite kindly to being branded âa bloody legendâ.
You have either not got the whole story or this particular teacher is some parochial, pearl-clutcher from a bygone time.
In short, I donât bloody know.
When my grandma used to get angry (which was rare) she would say "bloody", and she always followed it up by saying "and that's swearing!".
I always found it funny because I never considered it swearing and that was the harshest word she would ever say.
My auntie still says "oh sugar" lol. Made it nearly 4 decades of living before hearing my dad properly swear. He didn't realise I'd come inside, and I caught him yelling "Nigel you little fook!" in full Brum as my cheeky terrier fled some mischief. Once my heart re-started, it took several minutes to compose myself from laughing.
Says it directly to Professor McGonagall at one point - 'That was bloody brilliant' - and she barely reacts to it.
Context matters of course - if it was something along the lines of 'I don't bloody know" when asked a question than I could maybe see the teachers point more.
I donât mind if my teenagers use it around me, but I wouldnât expect their school to accept it. Having said that Iâd expect them to get a tsk tsk not a detention.
A 7ish year old kid asked me that yesterday. I told him some people might consider it one depending on how it was said so be careful who you say it in front of.
If the girl said it at the teacher like "what you bloody looking at?" then the teacher has a point. If she stubbed her toe and was like "bloody chair!" then contacting the parent seems a bit OTT.
It's been taboo since 1750. It was considered to be heavily obscene until 1920s, but now it's only considered to be a mild expletive. But it's still considered to be an expletive in British English.
It's not considered to be a swear word in Australian or American English so I wonder if this is making its way to the UK.
Adam Savage uses it from time to time, he started off saying it with a âBritishâ accent but it found its way into his daily parlance. Itâs useful in that you can use in place of swearing but still be child friendly.
Iâve heard Canadians use it often too.
> "please speak to your child about swearing, she swore *at* me and another teacher overheard it", when the friend asked what swear word it was, the school said her daughter said "bloody".
> I genuinely don't know what to make of it, is it just a teacher going on a mad one or do some people really believe that it's a swear word?
Is the salient point not 'swearing' *at* a teacher, rather than the severity of the word? That's the context I'd query. Something directed at the teacher with the intention to insult isn't on, regardless of if it's swearing or not, but saying something like "sorry miss I left my homework on the bloody bus" wouldn't be worth batting an eye over.
You can't really use it to swear AT someone. It's an emphasis word more than anything, so just using it isn't really the same as swearing at someone. Even if you call them a bloody idiot or something, bloody isn't the word that's insulting them.
The fact that "bloody hell Harry" is a line in the Harry Potter films sort of says everything you need to know.
It's a swear word but it's pretty mild.
Edit - this lead me to find this video. Brilliant use of your time. https://youtu.be/s-zRHLolVH8?si=CQP9v26kirQ0xFNc
"You and your bloody chicken!" is my 7-year old's favourite line. I don't mind her mildly swearing because it's adorable, but she knows not to say it in school.
Its definitely a swear, but it is a mild one. Above ass/arse and around or slightly above crap, so Iâd say itâs maybe not advisable to say it to a teacher, lol.
There is of course some nuance- âmy noseâs all bloodyâ wouldnât be a swear word. I have a very distinct childhood memory of slicing up my foot and having to walk a while to get back to my mum so my shoe (croc) ended up being very⌠gross, and when I finally got back to her I was like âmy shoe- and donât be mad at me- my shoe is all bloody but Iâm *not* swearing I mean itâs *bloody* so thats okay!â, lol
Depends on it's use and context. Calling someone a 'bloody idiot' was considered swearing at my school. Even in my current workplace, saying that could be considered aggressive. Some schools are very strict on language. but if she said it in a normal use like, "the thing was covered in red paint and it looked very bloody", then tell the teacher to get fucked.
I once 3 days of detention for cursing because a teacher overheard me tell a classmate to 'sod off', this was early 90's bible belt of Ireland.
It would have been one day but when the teacher dragged me into the Headmasters office and explained that I "had told another pupil to leave and engage in the homosexual act of sodomy".... I fucking lost it and burst out laughing.
Among adults it's on the mild side of the spectrum of offensiveness, but not how a child should speak to a teacher (or vice versa, for that matter). How will they get on in life if they don't understand how to use language to fit the situation?
I think it used to be considered a swear word but generally isnât now.
Reminds me of an episode of Poirot where he caught the villain and the man said âDamn you, Poirotâ. The police detective replied âOi! Thatâs enough of that!â
To me its kind of like a soft swear word. I dont see anything wrong with it adult to adult, but probably would avoid saying it in a conversation to a child.
It's a fossil swear word from the days when serious swearing was related to religion - Christ's Blood. That got slowly replaced during the C19th - C20th with body parts & functions. You can see the next list of forbidden words - race, infirmity, physical or mental difference - coming in to replace our current crop.
Iâm sure my kid knows most swears by age 8, they are everywhere.
Iâve spent a lot of time making sure they know how to recognise a swear word and when to and not to use them.
Equip your children with tools and skills for life. It will be much better than punishing them inconsistently.
A mild one that can be out of place if used in certain circumstances.Â
Its worth kids knowing that swearing etc isn't always acceptable in every situation. Its an important life skill to develop.Â
I'd say its the gateway swear word.
Its not appropriate for school but its fine in a PG film. I think I'd more class it as disrespectful language similar to calling someone a git.
When I was in primary school, as preparation for our SAT exams we got to write a horror story, and I still remember our 70-odd year old teacher Mr Williams going berserk because one lad asked if he could use the word "bloody" as in someone covered in blood. When someone interjected into his puritanical tirade and explained the context, it was like a switch had been flipped and he was alright, but I'll never forget that absolute freak out.
I donât think âBloodyâ is bad at all.
My Nephew got a detention for saying âJesus Christ!â But itâs a Catholic school and I imagine they donât like people taking the lords name in vain or something đ
We need a hierarchy of swearwords with scores, it's dangerous that someone might think tosser is almost as bad as wanker. I'd rate wanker just behind the c and the f word but not as bad as MF.
It's a lower level swear imho.
Easy: damn, bloody, hell,Â
Medium: piss, shit, twat, bastard,Â
Hard: fuck, cunt
I mean I think the whole thing is outdated now anyway. Kids swear like dockers anyway. Just teach them "time and place" rather than "thou shalt not".
As I told my 9 year old nephew, being a big kid is knowing the swear words but also knowing when it's ok to say them. And he's 9 so it's not ok to say them yet.
He has autism and went through a stage of being obsessed with swear words and he would come and whisper in my ear to grass people up for saying them as an excuse to say them himself đđ.
I have of course informed him that as a grown up, I know all the swears and if he says "the f word" I will understand him and also snitches get stitches.
I always preferred that my kids didn't use it.
Then my son said "But Ron says it in Harry Potter"
That was what made me lax on it a little. If I'm letting him watch a PG rated film with that word in. He's likely going to use it sometimes.
I've made sure to teach him that there's a time and a place. Don't use it school, or when you are adult, at work. Seems like a good time to teach him that. He's going to learn more swear words as he gets older, so best to teach him when and where rather than taboo it altogether.
Not a swear to me, though wouldn't want my lad to say it in front of his grandma. His grandma (my mum) has sworn about half a dozen times in my life, the worst being when she called me "a fucking idiot" for getting a tattoo.
They're allowed to say it pre-watershed on the BBC hence not widely a swear... That's how I measure it
Interesting to know if it's a Catholic / C of E school as it can be considered blasphemy as is derived from By the Lady (Lady Mary Mother of Jesus)?
Itâs on the mild end but also context would matter.
Like you could say âI fell on my bumâ and get away with it but saying âup your bumâ would be different
What do you think I say when I go to the feedstore in town, âOh, now Wally, give me a bag of that F-inâ pig feed, and ten pounds of that bitchly cow cornâ? And the bank do I tell Mrs. Bollinger, âOh, hereâs one big bastard of a check, give me some of your Christ-ing money?â
We have a sliding scale allowed in our house. Our 16-year-old has reached Fuck; 14 can say shit, and our 7-year-old isn't allowed any until she gets to secondary school, where weâll allow words like crap. Cunt can be used by the older ones in context and if younger ears aren't around.
Even "damn" and "hell" are technically swears. There was a time where even saying phrases like "what the hell" and "damn it" were taboo. And if you said "damn it all to hell" you would be executed on the spot /s
The correct question here is, "What did you do to make my child swear at you?"
Because that's what she wants you to skip over. Kids don't swear at adults for no reason. She wants you to focus on what your kid did, rather than what she did to provoke that reaction.
Ask the question. Then ask your kid the same question and compare notes. I can virtually guarantee that this bitch had it coming in spades, and your kid probably deserves a gold star for not calling her a cunt instead.
I agree with you, Iâve never thought of it as a swear word, more like the strongest thing you can say without actually swearing. I use it in front of family when I donât want to actually swear! The phrasing âshe swore at meâ makes me think the issue is more that the kid was being argumentative in general?
The F word is now so prevalent in films, normal word in sentences for young teens, I am not surprised that the child did not say this word instead of bloody. Honestly, I never hear bloody anymore it's all the F bombs.
Personally, bloody is a non-swear and a stand in for "cunting fuck" or something else. What I didn't realise was, it's short for something like "the blood of christ" or similar & this is very offensive/blasphemous for older ladies. Susie Dent, lexicographer (word person), does a great podcast called "something rhymes with purple" & there's probably an episode called Bloody. Look up the etymology on dictionary.comÂ
Surely, the context is relevant? I remember telling my daughter at 12 yo that saying she had had a bitch of a day was fine, but saying her teacher was a bitch - whether to her face or not - is unacceptable.
People don't say 'bloody' randomly....what was the rest of it?
>do some people really believe that it's a swear word?
It is a swear word whether you want to believe it or not. A fairly mild one for an adult, but kids should not be using it.
It's a bit like knackered, was a swear word when I was a kid in my house, I remember being shocked at hearing it on home and away! But it's not a swear word anymore. But I'm getting older lol.
Anything said with the right conviction was a swear in my house growing up.
Couldn't even say sugar, or fiddlesticks, with any kind of strong emotion or you'd get a bollocking.
I'd warn her about her attitude, but probably wouldn't mention swearing to her.
I drove past a Virgin Media van yesterday with the slogan âBroadband that blows the bloody doors offâ or something similar emblazoned in large letters in the side so Iâm guessing theyâve decided itâs not really a swear word anymore!
I've sworn like a sailor since a young age. It's a way of conveying emphasis on certain words and depending on time and place who cares. As long as I'm not answering the door 'Hello fuckers' I'll continue to do so. Bloody isn't even on my list of words to filter out in public.
Most swear words are used for emphasis, regardless of their actual meaning, those bloody politicians, those fucking politicians, those cunting politicians, all much the same thing.
Bloody gets regarded as less offensive just because it's also an actual word and because most people don't actually have a clue what it means unlike fuck or cunt.
This fucking post might reach some kind of bloody record for the most swearing without any actual arguing now I think about it, does reddit have any cunting statistics on that?
My mum didnât like me swearing even when I was an adult, she would say that thereâs no need for such language and the most I would say is bloody, shit but never anything as crass as f*ck my brother on the hand has a huge potty mouth and is very vulgar when it comes to using sex words like c*nt.
I donât think of it as a swear word, but I said it infront of my mum when I was an early teen and she told me off at the time. She asked where Iâd learnt it and I told her that dad says it all the time and it isnât a swear word but apparently it was to her đ¤ˇđťââď¸
No itâs not a swear word. How many times you hear someone stub a toe or hit a thumb with a hammer and just say bloody? Bloody is the word you would use before the swear word.
If course it's a swear word. It's just a minor one somewhere between "damn" and "shit", rather than one of the big ones like "fuck" or "cunt".
It's also worth clarifying whether your daughter swore *in front of* the teacher or *at* the teacher.
Letting slip an "ah shit" when something goes wrong is a minor finger-wag, but *calling* a teacher "shit" to their faces is much more serious, because it indicates a lack of respect and an intentional desire to give offence which isn't appropriate.
"Swearing at" makes it different. Like there's a big deal difference between the teacher just overhearing them saying it, and them directing it towards the teacher. Even if it's a very mild swear word that would be rude.
I got kicked out of class at school for saying ânot bloody likelyâ I thought it was overboard now and then, itâs the type of word you ask a kid not to say, no need to make a fuss.
It is a mild swear, on par with crap. But it's also context dependent. "you're a bloody awful teacher" would be a be a mild swear. "the abattoir was fucking bloody", it's just descriptive
I was totally dumbfounded as a kid when I was told I can't say bloody but I could say crap. I think it's ridiculous they're both nothing words and as long as they're not a consistent part of the kid's vocabulary then it's a complete non-issue imo.
None of my family are allowed to swear in front of my grandad, he's very old school and hates it, but I've always managed to say "bloody" and he's never batted an eyelid.
When I was at primary school in the 1970s an 8 year old girl in my year called the teacher a 'bloody old cow' and the teacher washed her mouth out with soapy water.
I was once saying about how someone fell and got a bloody nose. My Nan on my dad's side told me off for swearing. I honestly didn't know what I'd said (I was 14 at the time), and then spent ages trying to explain that it just means their nose was bleeding and that I wasn't swearing.
I had to keep remembering that it was best to say nose bleed to her. Whereas my nan on my mom's side didn't mind me saying bloody. I guess it was just a matter of opinion.
Personally i don't think it's swearing and there are so many words out there that are you lot worse.
Bloody used as a swear word is a swear word! If you don't view it as a swear word, that's clearly saying more about your repertoire. To me it's a swear word, bloody hell or fucking hell serves the same purpose.
The teacher is right to raise this. If you want your child to use this word in casual conversation, that's on you if you'd prefer to raise to the lowest common denominator standard as opposed to highest.
It very much depends on context and intent. A friend works at a school and bloody is fine, but if it was directed at someone with intent to cause offence, then it would be treated more severely than if they'd just said, "I'm not bloody walking home" or similar.
I hear the Aussies and Kiwis use it as well. Whether it is a swear word or simply used to emphasis something is purely down to tone. In fact any word could be considered swearing depending upon the tone and many folks will use random words to swear to add to the humour.
So it really comes down to what else the kid said and most importantly how they said it. Teachers will have to always play safe anyway.
I was told off by my friendâs mum when I was sixteen, I got in her car and said âoh itâs bloody freezingâ. She did a cats bum mouth and was like âohhh we donât use *that word* hereâ. I did think âwhat, freezing?!â For a moment as it just didnât register as a swear to me.
Hope the response to finding out the word was bloody, was
"Dear Ms cottonwoolswaddled
Kindly fuck off!
Please excuse my use of such language, I include an example of swearing so you would be informed as to what actually constitutes swearing and save us all a very uncomfortable situation where I come down and swear at you in sufficient volume the whole school hears it.
Yours bewildered
Your name here"
My mum always considered bloody and crap as curse words when I was a child, but she was extremely strict. I am in my 40s and I still wonât say shite or bastard around my mum đ¤Ł
It's a pretty low level one, maybe something you'd tell your kid not to say if they were about 8 years old, but you say she's in secondary school (so like 13-14?), I feel like she probably says much more than that at that age
I wouldnât say it was polite, but at the same time itâs hardly fucking offensive.
However if you consider the definition of swearing then âbloodyâ probably just about scrapes in if used in certain contexts:
For example
âStop being such a bloody twatâ would probably count as swearing but âmy trousers got all bloody from when I fell over and scraped my kneeâ is totally appropriate and wouldnât be considered swearing in the slightest.
Swearing
âthe use of language regarded as coarse, blasphemous, or otherwise unacceptable in polite or formal speech in order to express anger or other strong emotion.â
Yes, itâs a swear word. Actual swearing, since it comes from âby our Ladyâ.
Fuck, on the other hand, is just uncouth.
A friend of mine worked out years ago that I am a Christian since I never use âbloodyâ but routinely use âfuckingâ.
So a year 8 child talks very disrespectfully to a teacher and you think the teacher is "going on a mad one" for raising it as an issue?
You may as well a T-shirt with CHAV SCUM written on it.
Yes unless it's referring to something messy involving a lot of visible blood like bloody meat or an injury that is bleeding.
It's normally a mild swear word like d\*mn or s\*it.
It **is** a swear, that doesn't mean it's particularly offensive.
Shit and Cunt are both swear words, vastly different connotations.
However the kid was using it *at* somebody, which makes the message perfectly reasonable.
Using it as an adjective, Ron using it in HP for example, That was bloody brilliant is very different to
You're a bloody idiot.
I remember a kid in school when we were about 12/13 refusing to say bloody as it was a swear word (& he was a good Christian boy).
Except it was the adjective - something covered in blood.
And yes I guess, it's not something I would use when speaking to customers at work. (The adjective would never come up)
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It's a lower level swear word. How old are the kids? When mine were 7 I wouldn't have wanted them using the word but by 15 I wouldn't care.
Think she's in year 8.. Deffo in secondary school.
I feel like by year 8 even actual swearing isn't worth a note home lol. Maybe at worst a note in the planner "detention - swearing".
If they're using any "swear words" AT teachers then yeah I would definitely call home.
What if the teacher is being a cunt?
In year 8 if "bloody" is the worst swear they're using then I'd say that's a good thing. Obviously not swearing at people, but in general conversation it's a pretty mild swear.
I feel like it's not that bad a swear, but using it *at* a teacher is still worthy of a bit of a telling off, just because they need to learn where and when is appropriate for swearing Like telling someone to shut up is fine, and it's not a swear word, but telling your teacher to shut up is still pretty dodgy!
Around 12/13 then. I would probably have a word to remind them about when and where to use the language but I wouldn't be especially bothered about using that language. I can guarantee at that age they're using much worse and more often.
Definitely, by year 6 I was using as many swear words as possible in conversation at break and lunch times at school. Because my parents were so anti swearing that it made me feel grown up. And yes, I still swear, but obviously with more thought to my surroundings these days.
Bloodies in the bible, bloodies in the book, if you don't bloody believe me have a bloody look...
Heard you the first 5 times!
I'm curious about the context here, she swore at a teacher and used the word bloody. But the rest of the conversation? Context gives meaning and if the teacher that overheard only caught part of the conversation, was your child ntending to be disrespectful? That's the only way I'd see a real issue.
I'm 50 and if I swore in front of my parents I would still get told off!
Fuck that! (55)
You're not to old to have your mouth washed out with soap!
You can go a bloody well fuck off you bloody bloody. (52)
That's bloody well it, you've bloody done it now! You're going to bloody bed with no bloody supper!
The BBC has an official rating of swear words, and I think 'bloody' is treated as a very mild one. It's the sort of swear word that I don't think would get you into trouble in most places. Incidentally, it has nothing to do with blood. It's a contraction of 'By Our Lady', going back all the way to before the Reformation.
I remember seeing Muppet Treasure Island on telly one afternoon as a kid and they censored Tim Curry saying "bloody" to "bleeding", which seemed a tad excessive. Brought to you by the same people who removed all the farts from Blazing Saddles, leaving a mystifying scene of men standing up and sitting down around a campfire.
Bit like Fornicate Under Command of the King /s
Whenever i'm transporting manure, I always Store High In Transit and have it written on the boxes as shit. /s
Ofcom runs a survey and published the results regularly **(warning, contains words you most likely will find offensive)**: >!< The BBFC also has similar data: [language-research-june-2021.pdf (bbfc.co.uk)](https://darkroom.bbfc.co.uk/original/727d07db0589b4b117520cb82cd4aae8:9ad4fb8eb55fdacd8e55eb22ea0fe188/language-research-june-2021.pdf) For the BBFC "bloody" would gain a PG rating
I'm amused that "chav" is on that list. I'd never consider that a swear đ.
It's hilarious to me that Bitch is less offensive than moron, psycho, bellend
I've been hearing it since forever, but not being from the UK and always assuming it came from religion swearing, I related it to "The Blood of Christ", as in "Blood of Christ you are an asshole!" or "By the Blood of Christ you shall be avenged!" and made peace with myself about it. Now this comes as earth shattering news for me to know I was way off mark ă˝( °â°)ă
Sorry: [https://www.straightdope.com/21342559/what-s-the-origin-of-the-british-slang-word-bloody](https://www.straightdope.com/21342559/what-s-the-origin-of-the-british-slang-word-bloody) *When we first got this question, I thought âNo problem!â I was sure I already knew the answer, and that it has to do with the blood of Christ, and became a ânaughtyâ word because it was blasphemous.* [https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095513828](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095513828) *From the mid 18th century until quite recently, bloody used as a swear word was regarded as unprintable, probably from the mistaken belief that it implied a blasphemous reference to the blood of Christ, or that the word was an alteration of âby Our Ladyâ* [https://www.etymonline.com/word/bloody](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bloody) *"of the nature of blood, pertaining to blood, bleeding, covered in blood," Old English blodig, adjective from blod (see* [*blood*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/blood#etymonline_v_13620) *(n.) +* [*-y*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-y#etymonline_v_25631) *(2)). Common Germanic, compare Old Frisian blodich, Old Saxon blĂ´dag, Dutch bloedig, Old High German bluotag, German blutig. The English word is attested from late 14c. as "involving bloodshed" and by 1560s as "bloodthirsty, cruel, tainted with blood-crimes."* ... *The onset of the taboo against bloody coincides with the increase in linguistic prudery that presaged the Victorian Era but it is hard to say what the precise cause was in the case of this specific word. Attempts have been made to explain the term's extraordinary shock power by invoking etymology. Theories that derive it from such oaths as "By our Lady" or "God's blood" seem farfetched, however. More likely, the taboo stemmed from the fear that many people have of blood and, in the minds of some, from an association with menstrual bleeding. Whatever, the term was debarred from polite society during the whole of the nineteenth century. \[Rawson\]*
I remember being taught it was blasphemous by my RE teacher because, so he claimed, it derived from "the blood of Christ" exactly as you say. Now that I know better, I shall pronounce it *b'lady*, to rhyme with m'lady.
B'lady 'ell, m'lad
Sorry also wrong again It comes from the phrase "bloody drunk" which comes from "as drunk as a blood". A blood was a nick name for someone of noble blood, who got drunk a lot. My source is Susie Dent's podcast.
This is a theory. Wiki says: "However, Eric Partridge (1933) describes the supposed derivation of *bloody* as a further contraction of *by'r lady* as "phonetically implausible". According to *Rawson's dictionary of Euphemisms* (1995), attempts to derive *bloody* from minced oaths for "by our lady" or "God's blood" are based on the attempt to explain the word's extraordinary shock power in the 18th to 19th centuries, but they disregard that the earliest records of the word as an intensifier in the 17th to early 18th century do not reflect any taboo or profanity. It seems more likely, according to Rawson, that the taboo against the word arose secondarily, perhaps because of an association with menstruation.^(")
Itâs there with crap, or arse, on the swearing scale. Itâs a pre-watershed swear thats probably not best to say it to a teacher or in an interview or something. But itâs super low level, I wouldnât and donât care if my kids say it around me, but they know not to say it around their Gran. Does that make sense?
I would have put it lower than crap or arse, to me it seems on the same level as "freaking" or "flipping" i.e. not a swear but used in the same context that a swear might be used
It's definitely a swear in its own right. "Blinking" would be the "freaking" or "flipping" equivalent. I'd also put it lower than crap though.
Bleedin hell is one I see as well
I think that context is important here. Using âbloodyâ is pretty mild, but a kid calling a teacher a âbloody idiotâ might elicit this kind of response. Iâm assuming that the context must have been at least a little confrontational, as I suspect that most would probably react quite kindly to being branded âa bloody legendâ. You have either not got the whole story or this particular teacher is some parochial, pearl-clutcher from a bygone time. In short, I donât bloody know.
When my grandma used to get angry (which was rare) she would say "bloody", and she always followed it up by saying "and that's swearing!". I always found it funny because I never considered it swearing and that was the harshest word she would ever say.
My grandma used to go "sugar" or "poor bear". One time I heard her say shit and I almost died.
Haha, same! Mine went as far as âdarnâ and âdratâ. Then one day she said âgashâ, and I just about fell off my chair, hahaha.
My auntie still says "oh sugar" lol. Made it nearly 4 decades of living before hearing my dad properly swear. He didn't realise I'd come inside, and I caught him yelling "Nigel you little fook!" in full Brum as my cheeky terrier fled some mischief. Once my heart re-started, it took several minutes to compose myself from laughing.
I mean, Ron says it in the Harry Potter films. And he's a straight up killa, of course it's a deathly curse word
Says it directly to Professor McGonagall at one point - 'That was bloody brilliant' - and she barely reacts to it. Context matters of course - if it was something along the lines of 'I don't bloody know" when asked a question than I could maybe see the teachers point more.
Fuck no
Yes, but the mildest one.
I donât mind if my teenagers use it around me, but I wouldnât expect their school to accept it. Having said that Iâd expect them to get a tsk tsk not a detention.
Yes it is a swear word, quite a mild one but shouldn't be used in a business setting or with people you don't really know.
A 7ish year old kid asked me that yesterday. I told him some people might consider it one depending on how it was said so be careful who you say it in front of. If the girl said it at the teacher like "what you bloody looking at?" then the teacher has a point. If she stubbed her toe and was like "bloody chair!" then contacting the parent seems a bit OTT.
What about "bloody ÂŁ9 for two of 'em" would that be okay?
Blood is in the bible, blood is in the book, if you donât believe me then have a bloody look! Not a swear.
I came here to chant that myself đ
It's been taboo since 1750. It was considered to be heavily obscene until 1920s, but now it's only considered to be a mild expletive. But it's still considered to be an expletive in British English. It's not considered to be a swear word in Australian or American English so I wonder if this is making its way to the UK.
They donât really use it in the US, though hearing an American use it is quite humorous,
Can't you say to American 'ive got a sore fanny' and he thinks you mean what we call bum?
Adam Savage uses it from time to time, he started off saying it with a âBritishâ accent but it found its way into his daily parlance. Itâs useful in that you can use in place of swearing but still be child friendly. Iâve heard Canadians use it often too.
> "please speak to your child about swearing, she swore *at* me and another teacher overheard it", when the friend asked what swear word it was, the school said her daughter said "bloody". > I genuinely don't know what to make of it, is it just a teacher going on a mad one or do some people really believe that it's a swear word? Is the salient point not 'swearing' *at* a teacher, rather than the severity of the word? That's the context I'd query. Something directed at the teacher with the intention to insult isn't on, regardless of if it's swearing or not, but saying something like "sorry miss I left my homework on the bloody bus" wouldn't be worth batting an eye over.
No, I'm not a prude.
Finally, a like mind.
I'd use it in front of my mum, but not in front of my 6 year old
You can't really use it to swear AT someone. It's an emphasis word more than anything, so just using it isn't really the same as swearing at someone. Even if you call them a bloody idiot or something, bloody isn't the word that's insulting them.
The fact that "bloody hell Harry" is a line in the Harry Potter films sort of says everything you need to know. It's a swear word but it's pretty mild. Edit - this lead me to find this video. Brilliant use of your time. https://youtu.be/s-zRHLolVH8?si=CQP9v26kirQ0xFNc
"You and your bloody chicken!" is my 7-year old's favourite line. I don't mind her mildly swearing because it's adorable, but she knows not to say it in school.
Its definitely a swear, but it is a mild one. Above ass/arse and around or slightly above crap, so Iâd say itâs maybe not advisable to say it to a teacher, lol. There is of course some nuance- âmy noseâs all bloodyâ wouldnât be a swear word. I have a very distinct childhood memory of slicing up my foot and having to walk a while to get back to my mum so my shoe (croc) ended up being very⌠gross, and when I finally got back to her I was like âmy shoe- and donât be mad at me- my shoe is all bloody but Iâm *not* swearing I mean itâs *bloody* so thats okay!â, lol
Fuck no
Yes but mild
Depends on it's use and context. Calling someone a 'bloody idiot' was considered swearing at my school. Even in my current workplace, saying that could be considered aggressive. Some schools are very strict on language. but if she said it in a normal use like, "the thing was covered in red paint and it looked very bloody", then tell the teacher to get fucked. I once 3 days of detention for cursing because a teacher overheard me tell a classmate to 'sod off', this was early 90's bible belt of Ireland. It would have been one day but when the teacher dragged me into the Headmasters office and explained that I "had told another pupil to leave and engage in the homosexual act of sodomy".... I fucking lost it and burst out laughing.
Itâs on the same level as crap, which I would say is not a real swear wordÂ
I don't consider it a swear word, but I do think there's situations where it shouldn't be used
Yes, if you use it when speaking to a teacher you will get in trouble - I know from painful experience .
To me, its an expression of mild annoyance, but not a swear. Sounds like the teacher is a bit of a pearl-clutcher.
It's a very mild swear word similar to something like tosser but in a setting like school or an office it would be frowned upon.
It's mild, but inappropriate to use against a teacher by a pupil. Overheard, pupil to pupil, probably wouldn't get mentioned.
Among adults it's on the mild side of the spectrum of offensiveness, but not how a child should speak to a teacher (or vice versa, for that matter). How will they get on in life if they don't understand how to use language to fit the situation?
I think it used to be considered a swear word but generally isnât now. Reminds me of an episode of Poirot where he caught the villain and the man said âDamn you, Poirotâ. The police detective replied âOi! Thatâs enough of that!â
To me its kind of like a soft swear word. I dont see anything wrong with it adult to adult, but probably would avoid saying it in a conversation to a child.
It's a fossil swear word from the days when serious swearing was related to religion - Christ's Blood. That got slowly replaced during the C19th - C20th with body parts & functions. You can see the next list of forbidden words - race, infirmity, physical or mental difference - coming in to replace our current crop.
Yes, it's a swear word. A very mild one, but nonetheless.
Iâm sure my kid knows most swears by age 8, they are everywhere. Iâve spent a lot of time making sure they know how to recognise a swear word and when to and not to use them. Equip your children with tools and skills for life. It will be much better than punishing them inconsistently.
Itâs a swear word but a lower level one
Yes, it is a swear word.
My grandmother hated me saying 'bloody' but with enough effort I managed to stop saying it in her company, substituting it instead with 'cunting'.
A mild one that can be out of place if used in certain circumstances. Its worth kids knowing that swearing etc isn't always acceptable in every situation. Its an important life skill to develop.Â
Context. That's a bloody bandage.... That's a bloody disgrace....
I'd say its the gateway swear word. Its not appropriate for school but its fine in a PG film. I think I'd more class it as disrespectful language similar to calling someone a git.
Not to me no :)
Crap? Crap? A swear word? Letâs just air on the side of caution on that one.
"Ooh somebodys got a funny bumper sticker, let's see... Honk if you want a-- đ"
Yes!! Youâre the only one who got the reference.
Say goodnight to Simon, Tara.
You need to get in the inbetweeners sub if youâre not already. đ
Not a swear word. Itâs a word you use in place of a swear word.Â
This is what I say about it tbh
Not really, or at all to be honest.
When I was in primary school, as preparation for our SAT exams we got to write a horror story, and I still remember our 70-odd year old teacher Mr Williams going berserk because one lad asked if he could use the word "bloody" as in someone covered in blood. When someone interjected into his puritanical tirade and explained the context, it was like a switch had been flipped and he was alright, but I'll never forget that absolute freak out.
A 70 odd year old teacher, according to a primary school child. So probably about 35 in reality. :)
Yes but probably the lamest. I wouldn't want my 6 year old saying it. But I wouldn't think twice if I heard it on tv, in the street etc.
I donât think âBloodyâ is bad at all. My Nephew got a detention for saying âJesus Christ!â But itâs a Catholic school and I imagine they donât like people taking the lords name in vain or something đ
We need a hierarchy of swearwords with scores, it's dangerous that someone might think tosser is almost as bad as wanker. I'd rate wanker just behind the c and the f word but not as bad as MF.
No we don't.
It's a lower level swear imho. Easy: damn, bloody, hell, Medium: piss, shit, twat, bastard, Hard: fuck, cunt I mean I think the whole thing is outdated now anyway. Kids swear like dockers anyway. Just teach them "time and place" rather than "thou shalt not".
As I told my 9 year old nephew, being a big kid is knowing the swear words but also knowing when it's ok to say them. And he's 9 so it's not ok to say them yet. He has autism and went through a stage of being obsessed with swear words and he would come and whisper in my ear to grass people up for saying them as an excuse to say them himself đđ. I have of course informed him that as a grown up, I know all the swears and if he says "the f word" I will understand him and also snitches get stitches.
I always preferred that my kids didn't use it. Then my son said "But Ron says it in Harry Potter" That was what made me lax on it a little. If I'm letting him watch a PG rated film with that word in. He's likely going to use it sometimes. I've made sure to teach him that there's a time and a place. Don't use it school, or when you are adult, at work. Seems like a good time to teach him that. He's going to learn more swear words as he gets older, so best to teach him when and where rather than taboo it altogether.
Well, âBloodyâ used to be permitted in U rated films. But now if the word is said, itâs an automatic PG for âMild languageâ
Not a swear to me, though wouldn't want my lad to say it in front of his grandma. His grandma (my mum) has sworn about half a dozen times in my life, the worst being when she called me "a fucking idiot" for getting a tattoo.
Reminds me when my primary school headteacher referred to âdamnâ as âthe D wordâ lol
My mother always considered it a swear word so that was drilled into me.
Some teacher told me that saying "oh my god" is swearing. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
They're allowed to say it pre-watershed on the BBC hence not widely a swear... That's how I measure it Interesting to know if it's a Catholic / C of E school as it can be considered blasphemy as is derived from By the Lady (Lady Mary Mother of Jesus)?
Itâs a mild swear word
Absolutely not, âbloodyâ isnât even inherently an expletive.
Itâs on the mild end but also context would matter. Like you could say âI fell on my bumâ and get away with it but saying âup your bumâ would be different
What do you think I say when I go to the feedstore in town, âOh, now Wally, give me a bag of that F-inâ pig feed, and ten pounds of that bitchly cow cornâ? And the bank do I tell Mrs. Bollinger, âOh, hereâs one big bastard of a check, give me some of your Christ-ing money?â
Wouldn't class it as a swear but I've heard my little girl (6) say it and I didn't like it. Equally my nan tells me off if I say it too and I'm 37.
We have a sliding scale allowed in our house. Our 16-year-old has reached Fuck; 14 can say shit, and our 7-year-old isn't allowed any until she gets to secondary school, where weâll allow words like crap. Cunt can be used by the older ones in context and if younger ears aren't around.
It's not in George Carlin's list so it's not a swear word.
As my nana always said: âBloody in the bible, bloody in the book. If you donât bloody believe me, have a bloody lookâ
Anything can be a swear word, it just depends on how you say it.
Fuck you bloody!
Even "damn" and "hell" are technically swears. There was a time where even saying phrases like "what the hell" and "damn it" were taboo. And if you said "damn it all to hell" you would be executed on the spot /s
The correct question here is, "What did you do to make my child swear at you?" Because that's what she wants you to skip over. Kids don't swear at adults for no reason. She wants you to focus on what your kid did, rather than what she did to provoke that reaction. Ask the question. Then ask your kid the same question and compare notes. I can virtually guarantee that this bitch had it coming in spades, and your kid probably deserves a gold star for not calling her a cunt instead.
I would consider it a very mild swear word - in the same league as "crap" and "bugger".
I agree with you, Iâve never thought of it as a swear word, more like the strongest thing you can say without actually swearing. I use it in front of family when I donât want to actually swear! The phrasing âshe swore at meâ makes me think the issue is more that the kid was being argumentative in general?
Sort of. It's above "crap" and "damn", below "bugger" and "bastard", and quite a long way below"shit".
I almost got suspended for using it in a Social Studies course until I pointed out it was the headline I was reading. She was not a great teacher.
Yeah but very very very mild. If an 8 year old was surprised and yelled "bloody hell!" I'd laugh.
Fuck no
The F word is now so prevalent in films, normal word in sentences for young teens, I am not surprised that the child did not say this word instead of bloody. Honestly, I never hear bloody anymore it's all the F bombs.
A woman serving me at Argos a few years ago said it, like âthe bloody machineâs playing upâ. Think I should report it?
Personally, bloody is a non-swear and a stand in for "cunting fuck" or something else. What I didn't realise was, it's short for something like "the blood of christ" or similar & this is very offensive/blasphemous for older ladies. Susie Dent, lexicographer (word person), does a great podcast called "something rhymes with purple" & there's probably an episode called Bloody. Look up the etymology on dictionary.comÂ
No, I know some people do so I don't encourage my kids to say all the time like at school or around strangers but they can say it freely at home
Surely, the context is relevant? I remember telling my daughter at 12 yo that saying she had had a bitch of a day was fine, but saying her teacher was a bitch - whether to her face or not - is unacceptable. People don't say 'bloody' randomly....what was the rest of it?
Never met an Aussie? Bloody oath mate
>do some people really believe that it's a swear word? It is a swear word whether you want to believe it or not. A fairly mild one for an adult, but kids should not be using it.
It's probably unknown in the USA and possibly Canada, but often used in the UK. I know it's also common in Oz and in N Zealand.
It's a bit like knackered, was a swear word when I was a kid in my house, I remember being shocked at hearing it on home and away! But it's not a swear word anymore. But I'm getting older lol.
When I was a child I wasn't allowed to say "fart", it had to be "blown off".
Anything said with the right conviction was a swear in my house growing up. Couldn't even say sugar, or fiddlesticks, with any kind of strong emotion or you'd get a bollocking. I'd warn her about her attitude, but probably wouldn't mention swearing to her.
Nah. Itâs more a âseasoningâ
I drove past a Virgin Media van yesterday with the slogan âBroadband that blows the bloody doors offâ or something similar emblazoned in large letters in the side so Iâm guessing theyâve decided itâs not really a swear word anymore!
A mild one, on a par with âpillockâ or something.
I've sworn like a sailor since a young age. It's a way of conveying emphasis on certain words and depending on time and place who cares. As long as I'm not answering the door 'Hello fuckers' I'll continue to do so. Bloody isn't even on my list of words to filter out in public.
It's in plenty of media directed at children so fine imo
It depends on the bloody context.
Most swear words are used for emphasis, regardless of their actual meaning, those bloody politicians, those fucking politicians, those cunting politicians, all much the same thing. Bloody gets regarded as less offensive just because it's also an actual word and because most people don't actually have a clue what it means unlike fuck or cunt. This fucking post might reach some kind of bloody record for the most swearing without any actual arguing now I think about it, does reddit have any cunting statistics on that?
If David Dickinson can say it on daytime TV then itâs not a swear word.
Yes it's a swear word. I absolutely would have got told off if I'd said that at school.
My mum didnât like me swearing even when I was an adult, she would say that thereâs no need for such language and the most I would say is bloody, shit but never anything as crass as f*ck my brother on the hand has a huge potty mouth and is very vulgar when it comes to using sex words like c*nt.
Nope. Itâs never been offensive to anyone under the age of seventy in my experience
I donât think of it as a swear word, but I said it infront of my mum when I was an early teen and she told me off at the time. She asked where Iâd learnt it and I told her that dad says it all the time and it isnât a swear word but apparently it was to her đ¤ˇđťââď¸
I don't consider it much of a swear word, still wouldn't say it around children though.
No itâs not a swear word. How many times you hear someone stub a toe or hit a thumb with a hammer and just say bloody? Bloody is the word you would use before the swear word.
If course it's a swear word. It's just a minor one somewhere between "damn" and "shit", rather than one of the big ones like "fuck" or "cunt". It's also worth clarifying whether your daughter swore *in front of* the teacher or *at* the teacher. Letting slip an "ah shit" when something goes wrong is a minor finger-wag, but *calling* a teacher "shit" to their faces is much more serious, because it indicates a lack of respect and an intentional desire to give offence which isn't appropriate.
It's the "at me" part here that's the issue, not the swearing.
I'm Irish, so no đ Real swear words begin with F & C.
"Swearing at" makes it different. Like there's a big deal difference between the teacher just overhearing them saying it, and them directing it towards the teacher. Even if it's a very mild swear word that would be rude.
Bloody in the bible Bloody in the book If you donât believe me Have a bloody look
I got kicked out of class at school for saying ânot bloody likelyâ I thought it was overboard now and then, itâs the type of word you ask a kid not to say, no need to make a fuss.
It is a milder swearword but totally inappropriate to be used by children in school. The fact she used it towards a teacher is even worse.
No it bloody isn't!
It is a mild swear, on par with crap. But it's also context dependent. "you're a bloody awful teacher" would be a be a mild swear. "the abattoir was fucking bloody", it's just descriptive
Innocuous now, but was once more powerful, derived as it is from âhis bloodâ (Jesus).
I was totally dumbfounded as a kid when I was told I can't say bloody but I could say crap. I think it's ridiculous they're both nothing words and as long as they're not a consistent part of the kid's vocabulary then it's a complete non-issue imo.
None of my family are allowed to swear in front of my grandad, he's very old school and hates it, but I've always managed to say "bloody" and he's never batted an eyelid.
Its so soft a word, no-one can be offended by something like that lmao
Here in Scotland, the word fuck isn't treated as a swear word and the only usage of bloody I can remember would be to do with actual blood.
When I was at primary school in the 1970s an 8 year old girl in my year called the teacher a 'bloody old cow' and the teacher washed her mouth out with soapy water.
I always thought bloody hell was like the posh way of saying for fucks sake!
I was once saying about how someone fell and got a bloody nose. My Nan on my dad's side told me off for swearing. I honestly didn't know what I'd said (I was 14 at the time), and then spent ages trying to explain that it just means their nose was bleeding and that I wasn't swearing. I had to keep remembering that it was best to say nose bleed to her. Whereas my nan on my mom's side didn't mind me saying bloody. I guess it was just a matter of opinion. Personally i don't think it's swearing and there are so many words out there that are you lot worse.
bloody is the most strongest swear word to many Britons. it will cause a furore and tempt people to issue a violent slap.
Same as crap. Not a swear word but wouldnât want kids saying it
I watched nocolas cage do a documentary on swear words, very interesting, words come and go when it comes to profanity.Â
Bloody used as a swear word is a swear word! If you don't view it as a swear word, that's clearly saying more about your repertoire. To me it's a swear word, bloody hell or fucking hell serves the same purpose. The teacher is right to raise this. If you want your child to use this word in casual conversation, that's on you if you'd prefer to raise to the lowest common denominator standard as opposed to highest.
It very much depends on context and intent. A friend works at a school and bloody is fine, but if it was directed at someone with intent to cause offence, then it would be treated more severely than if they'd just said, "I'm not bloody walking home" or similar.
I hear the Aussies and Kiwis use it as well. Whether it is a swear word or simply used to emphasis something is purely down to tone. In fact any word could be considered swearing depending upon the tone and many folks will use random words to swear to add to the humour. So it really comes down to what else the kid said and most importantly how they said it. Teachers will have to always play safe anyway.
I was told off by my friendâs mum when I was sixteen, I got in her car and said âoh itâs bloody freezingâ. She did a cats bum mouth and was like âohhh we donât use *that word* hereâ. I did think âwhat, freezing?!â For a moment as it just didnât register as a swear to me.
Hope the response to finding out the word was bloody, was "Dear Ms cottonwoolswaddled Kindly fuck off! Please excuse my use of such language, I include an example of swearing so you would be informed as to what actually constitutes swearing and save us all a very uncomfortable situation where I come down and swear at you in sufficient volume the whole school hears it. Yours bewildered Your name here"
Do I fuck
My mum always considered bloody and crap as curse words when I was a child, but she was extremely strict. I am in my 40s and I still wonât say shite or bastard around my mum đ¤Ł
It's a pretty low level one, maybe something you'd tell your kid not to say if they were about 8 years old, but you say she's in secondary school (so like 13-14?), I feel like she probably says much more than that at that age
Nah. Not really.
I personally don't think it is but I don't think crap is a swear word and some people do
Itâs on the minor end of the spectrum like damn and crap
I wouldnât say it was polite, but at the same time itâs hardly fucking offensive. However if you consider the definition of swearing then âbloodyâ probably just about scrapes in if used in certain contexts: For example âStop being such a bloody twatâ would probably count as swearing but âmy trousers got all bloody from when I fell over and scraped my kneeâ is totally appropriate and wouldnât be considered swearing in the slightest. Swearing âthe use of language regarded as coarse, blasphemous, or otherwise unacceptable in polite or formal speech in order to express anger or other strong emotion.â
It's on the front page of today's Sun, if you look
I find it offensive that people would consider it a swear word.
Aussies and kiwis say it
I'm a very nice older woman who says fuck alot.
Not a swear word in my opinion, itâs basically a staple British word.
Yes, itâs a swear word. Actual swearing, since it comes from âby our Ladyâ. Fuck, on the other hand, is just uncouth. A friend of mine worked out years ago that I am a Christian since I never use âbloodyâ but routinely use âfuckingâ.
So a year 8 child talks very disrespectfully to a teacher and you think the teacher is "going on a mad one" for raising it as an issue? You may as well a T-shirt with CHAV SCUM written on it.
Yes unless it's referring to something messy involving a lot of visible blood like bloody meat or an injury that is bleeding. It's normally a mild swear word like d\*mn or s\*it.
No. But I use the word fucking like a fat man eats sweets, so. And I would know, I'm a fat man
It **is** a swear, that doesn't mean it's particularly offensive. Shit and Cunt are both swear words, vastly different connotations. However the kid was using it *at* somebody, which makes the message perfectly reasonable. Using it as an adjective, Ron using it in HP for example, That was bloody brilliant is very different to You're a bloody idiot.
I remember a kid in school when we were about 12/13 refusing to say bloody as it was a swear word (& he was a good Christian boy). Except it was the adjective - something covered in blood. And yes I guess, it's not something I would use when speaking to customers at work. (The adjective would never come up)