Profanity

[infomanpa]

I find it amusing that in the 19th century, they even censored Biblical words like "hell" and "****." What's that all about?

 

[mofederal]

The book I alluded too is My Secret Life by "Walter." It was written in the way he spoke and thought, so it is a very different book. Nothing so much like others written then. It is not a work of fiction. All 11 volumes of it. I do not lightly recommend the book as it is adult in nature, but not everything in it is that way. It gives one an insight into the way people talked and interacted in that time frame.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

"potty mouth"

Definitely heard this one before

My Nanny would say "sugar" a lot

My mother, too, and it was always recommended as a method of taking a quick right/left hand turn if you could catch yourself in time! Another one I use is 'shoot!'. Pretty much serves the same purpose

 

[AshleyMel]

Biblical words like "hell"

My sisters and I would spell out/say " h - e - double tooth picks!" and then laugh like the dickens because we (thought) we were so naughty!

Even today, preachers have to be careful what they say from the pulpit! My husband told me of a story of several licensed ministers who sat underneath a Pastor and at a Minister's meeting they got a talking too because one of them had said "butt hurt" during one of their sermons!

 

[WJC]

My sisters and I would spell out/say " h - e - double tooth picks!" and then laugh like the dickens because we (thought) we were so naughty!

Even today, preachers have to be careful what they say from the pulpit! My husband told me of a story of several licensed ministers who sat underneath a Pastor and at a Minister's meeting they got a talking too because one of them had said "butt hurt" during one of their sermons!

I recall in the seventh grade while filing into class a skylarking classmate struck me from behind. Of course I hit back and the teacher wanted to know why. I answered, "He hit me in the rear end."
She went ballistic....

 

[Cavalry Charger]

"An Illinois soldier reported from Corinth, Mississippi, after Shiloh: "If there is any place on God's fair earth where 'wickedness stalketh abroad in daylight,' it is in the army...Ninety nine men out of every hundred are profane swearers..."

"One of the most common evils of the camp was profanity. A New Englander serving on Staten Island in the fall of 1861 reported that 'swearing is almost universal,' while a Chicagoan stationed near Memphis observed: 'The swearing especially is terrific, and even to a man accustomed to hear bad language, and with sensibilities not very easily shocked, it is really disgusting. The worst characters of the worst dens up North, I am afraid, would have to yield the palm for profanity to the gallant army of the Sourthwest."

"Articles of war forbade the use of profanity and, in the case of officers, prescribed a fine of one dollar for each offense. But little attention was paid to the prohibition, and commissioned personnel, far from enjoining their men, seem rather to have set an unwholesome example in the use of oaths and execrations".


"Even more to the point was the observation of a Connecticut captain who wrote from Louisiana in 1862: 'It is wonderful how profane an army is. Officers who are members of the church...who would not even play a game of cards, have learned to rip out oaths when the drill goes badly or when the discipline gets out of kilter'".

(taken from The Life of Billy Yank, Bell Irvin Wiley)

 

[Cartagena]

Many written accounts refer to descriptions of soldiers and their officers using profanity in battle situations. In the custom of the times, written accounts of the words used were often "bleeped" out by simply using dashes to substitute for the letters in the word, like d----d for "****ed," that can usually be easily deciphered by the reader. I have read about many who supposedly would let loose barrages of expletives and curses when in the heat of battle. My question is how comparable were these words to today's profanity? Were they simply using words like "hell" and "****" or something stronger. I am pretty sure that what was considered profanity in the mid-19th century might be considered elementary student language, today. Or am I wrong? How can I find out what the typical vocabulary of the actual uncensored language was in the 1860's. Is there a reference somewhere?

I remember a Union soldier's military records that I found in the National Archives. The soldier had been court martialed among the statements of witnesses against him

 

[Cartagena]

I remember reading the proceedings of a court martial of a Union private, in that soldier's military records in the National Archives. A statement of a witness in the soldier's records quoted him as having told an officer, "You aren't worth a pinch of s..t."

 

[Cavalry Charger]

I remember reading the proceedings of a court martial of a Union private, in that soldier's military records in the National Archives. A statement of a witness in the soldier's records quoted him as having told an officer, "You aren't worth a pinch of s..t."

Welcome, @Cartagena . You should go over to the 'Meet and Greet' thread to introduce yourself and get a proper welcome there

Here's another couple along the lines of the record you have shared, though no Court Martial's involved as far as I know:

"Private Charles N. Heath when threatened with arrest by his Sargent replied: 'if you arrest me, I will rip your God damned guts out and scatter them over the parade ground'. And Private John Killeen when ordered to guard duty blurted: 'By my living J..... C..... I will have your life the first chance, you s** of a b*****'. Another soldier was so provoked by a Sargent's order to keep still while in formation as to exclaim 'that he wished the whole God damned Army and Navy and every other God damned thing was in hell' and that 'no God **** man could make him keep still.'"

(Bell Irvin Wiley, Billy Yank)

OK. I've think I've used up my quota of *'s for today, so I'll leave it at that, but you get the gist. Soldiers in the CW swore!

 

[tbuckley]

How about "Land O Goshen?"

That was the strongest language that my Grandma ever used and as a kid it confused me because the township just south of here is Goshen Township.

 

[1867crete]

I never heard my grandmother curse. But her saying was" well wouldn't that make a preacher curse" lol!!!! That is my favorite and every time I get to say I smile!! Lol

 

[LoriAnn]

Another one I use is 'shoot!'.

My sister and I say "Cr@p" a lot. And, sad to say, the F Bomb is my favorite. I say it so casually ~ don't even need to be annoyed. I am trying to break that habit though.

"butt hurt"

I love that term. Have you seen the Official Internet Butthurt Complaint Form?

As for H*ll, we used to say, "H-E-Double hockey sticks".

 

[nitrofd]

My sister and I say "Cr@p" a lot. And, sad to say, the F Bomb is my favorite. I say it so casually ~ don't even need to be annoyed. I am trying to break that habit though.


I love that term. Have you seen the Official Internet Butthurt Complaint Form?

As for H*ll, we used to say, "H-E-Double hockey sticks".

I guess you are a child of the times.

 

[infomanpa]

My sister and I say "Cr@p" a lot. And, sad to say, the F Bomb is my favorite. I say it so casually ~ don't even need to be annoyed. I am trying to break that habit though.

I sometimes wonder if it's easier to be more casual about profanity in our speech, today, because not only do we hear it at the movies and on cable TV, but the words are also fully spelled out in print and online.

 

[LoyaltyOfDogs]

Here is a reference you may find useful:
http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?1865-Period-Swear-Words-by-Craig-Hadley

Thanks, @chellers. That glossary has an interesting entry for "tarnation," which it defines as a euphemism for d**nation. The quotes given as examples show tarnation's use not only for the noun d**nation, but also as a substitute for the adjectives d***able or d***ed. How versatile! No wonder it's remained such a useful cussword.

 

[LoriAnn]

I sometimes wonder if it's easier to be more casual about profanity in our speech, today, because not only do we hear it at the movies and on cable TV, but the words are also fully spelled out in print and online.

I think you are correct. It's totally acceptable for people to swear now, and few blink if a woman cusses. If I hang around others who swear freely, it's much easier for me to slip into it as well.

My parents still prefer me to be more ladylike, so I try to watch it around them. (They already put up with other shenanigans beautifully. The least I can do is not drop the F-bomb on top of it all.)

 

[kevikens]

My old aunt Becky used to use benign epithets that I had no idea at the time, when I was very young, which were replacements for stronger ones. When someone said something she found objectionable, she would frequently say "You're full of soup". When she was surprised at someone doing something odd she would exclaim, "Cheese and rice, what are you doing?" When something broke or went wrong it was always, "Oh fudge" or "Oh sugar". Later on as a teacher in high school I would frequently hear some pretty strong language in the hallways, if not in the classroom. Eventually it lost its shock value on students and teachers alike. I discovered I could get more attention from the kids and fellow faculty members from using my Aunt Becky's ersatz profanity than the originals. You know something? I find her versions far more fetching than the now overused and ubiquitous smutty language which annoys and irritates rather than shocking its hearers.

 

[kevikens]

That was the strongest language that my Grandma ever used and as a kid it confused me because the township just south of here is Goshen Township.

You must be from Southeastern Pa. Right?

 

[kevikens]

I think you are correct. It's totally acceptable for people to swear now, and few blink if a woman cusses. If I hang around others who swear freely, it's much easier for me to slip into it as well.

My parents still prefer me to be more ladylike, so I try to watch it around them. (They already put up with other shenanigans beautifully. The least I can do is not drop the F-bomb on top of it all.)

My adult daughters use language that they know would not go over well with Mom and Dad at home. How do I know they do? By reading the social media sites where they post. if I did not need to read these sites to find out what is going on in their lives I would not be reading them at all.

 

[LoriAnn]

My adult daughters use language that they know would not go over well with Mom and Dad at home.

My Mom is on Facebook. And she yells at me on Facebook too.

I will say there is another side to this (isn't there always). Regarding women who swear:

There are men out there ~ not here, as you are all gentlemen ~ who see polite, lady-like behavior and think, "weak" or "easily manipulated". They try to push, prod, cajole. You say, "No" very clearly. They hear, "Not right now, but please, try again later." You can say, "No" several times and still not be heard.

I've noticed that one good F-bomb takes care of that problem.