Monday, March 20, 2006

Swear words

Where the Bloody Hell Are You?

Australia put together a tourism spot in which a bikini-clad babe asks the viewer, "Where the bloody hell are you?" meaning, "Why aren't you here yet?". They're pretty nicely done, but until recently were blocked in the UK because of the word "bloody." I find it interesting because that's not considered a swear-word here in the US and it proves my point that words are just words. There are, obviously, words that have appropriate use and inappropriate use... but it's an interesting thing to study.

To swear in 170 different languages, you can consult this online dictionary and find exactly what you're looking for.

Here's the BBC's own take on swear words and their origins.

And finally, I leave you with a quote from the inimitable Calvin: "Life's disappointments are harder to take when you don't know any swear words."

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