Words - Damn, Hell and Crap
Subba Rao
I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
Example sentences - Who the hell gives a damn?
Go to hell.
Who gives a damn anyway.
Hot Damn.
What would be the best substitute words for these words?
Thank you for any information.
Subba Rao
s u p e r o <AT> a t t g l o b a l <DOT> n e t
PS - Is "crap" a swear word as well? "What is this crap?" or "What
they are giving you is crap."
Simon R. Hughes
> Hi,
>
> I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
> in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
>
> Example sentences - Who the hell gives a damn?
> Go to hell.
> Who gives a damn anyway.
> Hot Damn.
>
> What would be the best substitute words for these words?
> Thank you for any information.
"Who the fuck gives a shit?"
"Go to buggery."
"Who gives a fuck anyway?"
"Fucking Hell!"
>
> Subba Rao
> s u p e r o <AT> a t t g l o b a l <DOT> n e t
>
> PS - Is "crap" a swear word as well? "What is this crap?" or "What
> they are giving you is crap."
Crap is not a swear word, it's what you find yourself in when you
have lied to the electorate.
--
Simon R. Hughes <!-- Kill "Kenny" for email. -->
<!-- 67 deg. 17' N; 14 deg. 23' E -->
John Ings
wrote:
>I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
>in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
>
>Example sentences - Who the hell gives a damn?
> Go to hell.
> Who gives a damn anyway.
> Hot Damn.
In the past such usages were never heard in 'polite company'. That is
to say, when ladies were present or in formal situations. There was a
great furor when Rhett Butler in the movie "Gone With the Wind" told
Scarlet "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"
That was in the 1930s and 40s. These days practically everybody uses
such phrases. They have lost their sting so-to-speak.
>What would be the best substitute words for these words?
'Heck' used to be substituted for 'hell' and 'darn' used to be
substituted for damn'.
>PS - Is "crap" a swear word as well?
Yes, but it too is much less offensive to modern ears than it once
was.
Peter Morris
"Subba Rao" <sai...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
news:vjpejin...@corp.supernews.com...
> Hi,
>
> I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
> in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
Yes, albeit very mild ones. A few decades ago they were considered
shocking. The makers of 'Gone With The Wind' were fined for
including the line 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'.
These days nobody would care.
> Example sentences - Who the hell gives a damn?
> Go to hell.
> Who gives a damn anyway.
> Hot Damn.
>
> What would be the best substitute words for these words?
> Thank you for any information.
Who the heck gives a darn
Go fly a kite.
Who gives a darn anyway.
Darn tootin'
> Subba Rao
> s u p e r o <AT> a t t g l o b a l <DOT> n e t
>
> PS - Is "crap" a swear word as well? "What is this crap?" or "What
> they are giving you is crap."
Yes, a bit stronger.
Tamakazura
> Thus spake Subba Rao:
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
>>in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
>>
>>Example sentences - Who the hell gives a damn?
>> Go to hell.
>> Who gives a damn anyway.
>> Hot Damn.
>>
>>What would be the best substitute words for these words?
>>Thank you for any information.
>
>
> "Who the fuck gives a shit?"
Is "shit" a countable word?
Aaron J. Dinkin
>> Hot Damn.
>>
>> What would be the best substitute words for these words?
>
> Darn tootin'
I disagree. "Hot damn" means 'wow!', but "darn tootin'" means 'you said
it!'
-Aaron J. Dinkin
Dr. Whom
Don Phillipson
news:vjpejin...@corp.supernews.com...
> I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
> in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
They are classic swear words because religious
in origin, i.e. invoking what used to be the society's
primary values. (Quebec French swearing has always
interested linguists because it is ultra-religious, e.g.
uses such technical words as Host, Ciborium etc. for
non-religious words -- thus ideal "profanity.")
> PS - Is "crap" a swear word as well? "What is this crap?" or "What
> they are giving you is crap."
It means excrement, i.e. something unmentionable,
thus is a secondary profanity (secondary because
non-religious: and thus possibly more common,
cf. French "merde.")
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)
dphillipson[at]trytel.com
John Ings
<dphil...@trytel.com> wrote:
>Quebec French swearing has always
>interested linguists because it is ultra-religious, e.g.
>uses such technical words as Host, Ciborium etc. for
>non-religious words -- thus ideal "profanity.
It's not all that creative though. For really creative cussing you
need to consult an Arab.
"May the fleas from a thousand camels infest your armpits!"
is one example.
Irwell
>
>"Subba Rao" <sai...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
>news:vjpejin...@corp.supernews.com...
>> Hi,
>>
>> I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
>> in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
>
>Yes, albeit very mild ones. A few decades ago they were considered
>shocking. The makers of 'Gone With The Wind' were fined for
>including the line 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'.
>
This was about the same time that 'not bloody likely'
spoken by Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's
'Pygmalion' caused another sensation.
Mike Lyle
[...]
> (Quebec French swearing has always
> interested linguists because it is ultra-religious, e.g.
> uses such technical words as Host, Ciborium etc. for
> non-religious words -- thus ideal "profanity.")
Tebernecl! Hé?
Mike.
Einde O'Callaghan
action as distinct from the substance. Nouns are teh only type of word
described as countable in english.
John Ings
<einde.oc...@planet-interkom.de> wrote:
>Nouns are teh only type of word
>described as countable in english.
That's a use of the term 'countable' I've not encountered before
Einde. Countable meaning 'having effect' or countable as in
numeration? Or some other meaning? Please elucidate.
John Dean
>
> Crap is not a swear word, it's what you find yourself in when you
> have lied to the electorate.
No no, you're thinking of the House of Lords
--
John 'reaping' Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply
Don Aitken
wrote:
Actually, it was 25 years after; the Pygmalion premiere was 1914, GWTW
was 1939 (or 1940 - ICLIUBITL).
--
Don Aitken
Einde O'Callaghan
replying to had asked if "shit" was a countable *word* - I said that it
was a countable *noun* in certain meanings - that is, it has a plural
form (usually ending in "s" in English) and can be preceded by the
indefinite article in the singular. There are a few other grammatical
properties of countable nouns as distinct from uncountable nouns but I
wont go into them here. They are also sometimes referred to as "count
nouns".
We're in misc.education.language.english and people here ask questions
about grammar and usage. I assumed that as given.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan
John Ings
And apparently this count noun business is taught as part of English
grammar to ESL students.
Yet somehow it got left out of my education :-(
I'd have looked it up in my Oxford Companion but that's still in one
of innumerable cardboard cartons because I've just relocated.
Thank you for the tutoring.
noc...@here.orthere
Subba Rao <sai...@attglobal.net> wrote:
They're mild swear words, but you would not use them in all social
contexts. For example, you wouldn't use these words in a job interview
unless, perhaps, if the interviewer was using them a lot.
The best thing when you are unsure of the correctness in a given
situation is to wait until you hear others use them.
Regards, Phil
Voetleuce
> Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
They are expletives, yes. What can you use in place of them? Other
expletives. Or, you could try the Southpark solution -- replace them with
similar sounding words :-) Go to hail. ... Who gives a dime anyway. ... Hot
dame.
noc...@here.orthere
Sometimes on the east coast of the US you hear "I could give two
shits!" It's to make sure that the recipient understands that "I don't
care at all," only doubly so.
Regards, Phil
Voetleuce
"John Ings" <noda...@spam.org> wrote in message
news:hmgpjvkapcqvsnmvq...@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 06:51:43 -0400, Subba Rao <sai...@attglobal.net>
> wrote:
> >I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
> >in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
> In the past such usages were never heard in 'polite company'. That is
> to say, when ladies were present or in formal situations. There was a
> great furor when Rhett Butler in the movie "Gone With the Wind" told
> Scarlet "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"
I recently used the use "damn" in a shop in the UK, and the people looked
shocked. The correct word to use is "darn", of course.
Voetleuce
"Peter Morris" <no...@m.please> wrote in message
news:bhiglj$lkj$1...@titan.btinternet.com...
> Yes, albeit very mild ones. A few decades ago they were considered
> shocking. The makers of 'Gone With The Wind' were fined for
> including the line 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'.
Really? I heard they wanted to raise the age restriction, and they went to
tribunal about it because that line is in the book and the book had no age
restriction on it.
Voetleuce
Try Klingon: "Your mother has a smooth forehead!"
R F
Oh, I don't think they went to tribunal about any such thing.
Matti Lamprhey
>
> [...] The makers of 'Gone With The Wind' were fined for
> including the line 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'.
I thought the line was approved on condition the stress went on the
"give" instead of the "damn"?
Matti
Matti Lamprhey
> "Subba Rao" <sai...@attglobal.net> wrote...
>
> > Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
>
> They are expletives, yes. What can you use in place of them? Other
> expletives. Or, you could try the Southpark solution -- replace them
> with similar sounding words :-) Go to hail. ... Who gives a dime
> anyway. ... Hot dame.
This business of labelling curse words "expletives" is a recent
solecism. An expletive is simply a word of no importance.
I blame Milhouse.
Matti
Skitt
> Peter Morris wrote:
>>> Hot Damn.
>>>
>>> What would be the best substitute words for these words?
>>
>> Darn tootin'
>
> I disagree. "Hot damn" means 'wow!', but "darn tootin'" means 'you
> said
> it!'
Hot ziggity dog! I think you've got it.
--
Skitt (in SF Bay Area) http://www.geocities.com/opus731/
I speak English well -- I learn it from a book!
-- Manuel (Fawlty Towers)
Jerry Friedman
> On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 06:51:43 -0400, Subba Rao <sai...@attglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> >I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
> >in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
> >
> >Example sentences - Who the hell gives a damn?
> > Go to hell.
> > Who gives a damn anyway.
> > Hot Damn.
>
> In the past such usages were never heard in 'polite company'. That is
> to say, when ladies were present or in formal situations. There was a
> great furor when Rhett Butler in the movie "Gone With the Wind" told
> Scarlet "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"
>
> That was in the 1930s and 40s. These days practically everybody uses
> such phrases. They have lost their sting so-to-speak.
I know people who avoid them. I have some tendency to avoid "hell"
and "damn", especially when I'm teaching, partly because of early
training and partly because they offend some people.
> >What would be the best substitute words for these words?
>
> 'Heck' used to be substituted for 'hell' and 'darn' used to be
> substituted for damn'.
Still are. I hear them now and then, including from young people, and
I've been known to say "What the heck" in various senses.
...
--
Jerry Friedman
Donna Richoux
The age-related ratings (G, PG, R, etc) were not even introduced until
1968. There certainly were censors before that, of course.
The "Trivia" section at the Intenet Movie Database says:
In 1939, the Hollywood Production Code dictated what
could and could not be shown or said on screen, and
Rhett Butler's memorable last line raised red flags.
A few of the suggested alternatives were "Frankly my
dear... I just don't care," "...it makes my gorge
rise," "...my indifference is boundless," "...I
don't give a hoot," and "...nothing could interest
me less." Fortunately, producer Selznick elected to
pay a $5,000 fine and keep the original, "Frankly my
dear, I don't give a damn."
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
John Varela
wrote:
> "Subba Rao" <sai...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:vjpejin...@corp.supernews.com...
>
> > I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
> > in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
>
> They are classic swear words because religious
> in origin, i.e. invoking what used to be the society's
> primary values.
I was taught that "damn" is blasphemous; since only God can damn someone, you
are usurping God's role when you damn someone or something.
I expect that seriously religious people would be offended by the use of
either Damn or Hell. And I certainly wouldn't use either word when standing
behind a lectern.
--
John Varela
Raymond S. Wise
news:1fzr6n2.y1ix05mnhqeaN%tr...@euronet.nl...
When the film was dubbed into French, the line became "Franchement, ma
chčre, c'est le dernier de mes soucis": literally, "Frankly, my dear, that's
the least of my worries." I saw it in the theater in France in 1974 and
presume that the dubbed version was made many years previously.
--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com
R F
On Fri, 15 Aug 2003, Donna Richoux wrote:
> R F <rfon...@mail.wesleyan.edu> wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 15 Aug 2003, Voetleuce wrote:
> >
> > > "Peter Morris" <no...@m.please> wrote in message
> > > news:bhiglj$lkj$1...@titan.btinternet.com...
> > >
> > > > Yes, albeit very mild ones. A few decades ago they were considered
> > > > shocking. The makers of 'Gone With The Wind' were fined for
> > > > including the line 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'.
> > >
> > > Really? I heard they wanted to raise the age restriction, and they went to
> > > tribunal about it because that line is in the book and the book had no age
> > > restriction on it.
> >
> > Oh, I don't think they went to tribunal about any such thing.
>
> The age-related ratings (G, PG, R, etc) were not even introduced until
> 1968. There certainly were censors before that, of course.
>
> The "Trivia" section at the Intenet Movie Database says:
>
> In 1939, the Hollywood Production Code dictated what
> could and could not be shown or said on screen, and
> Rhett Butler's memorable last line raised red flags.
> A few of the suggested alternatives were "Frankly my
> dear... I just don't care," "...it makes my gorge
> rise," "...my indifference is boundless," "...I
> don't give a hoot," and "...nothing could interest
> me less."
I wonder if anyone suggested "anything could interest me less".
Or that phrase, so familiar now because of its extensive use on _The West
Wing_: "I could give a damn".
Irwell
Probably thinking of the film with Wendy Hiller and
Leslie Howard. The stage version was in 1914?
Tempus fugit!
Irwell
>On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 14:17:13 UTC, "Don Phillipson" <dphil...@trytel.com>
>wrote:
>
>> "Subba Rao" <sai...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
>> news:vjpejin...@corp.supernews.com...
>>
>> > I hear (and I have used sometimes) these 2 words a lot in spoken english
>> > in the US. Are the words "Damn" and "Hell" swear words?
>>
>> They are classic swear words because religious
>> in origin, i.e. invoking what used to be the society's
>> primary values.
>
>I was taught that "damn" is blasphemous; since only God can damn someone, you
>are usurping God's role when you damn someone or something.
No. You can take a test and pay a small fee for the certficate.