Giving up swearing

[Esceptico]

At school and university I swore a lot but after getting together with my wife and starting a family it was mostly limited to occasions such as stubbing my toe. Then we moved to NZ. People here swear a lot more freely than in the UK and I’ve noticed that my language has gotten much worse. So has my daughter’s.

We are planning a return to civilisation later this year so in preparation we are having a contest to see if we can go a whole month with no expletives. Anyone else tried giving up swearing? Strategies?

[toasty]

fk that for a game of soldiers!

[CarCrazyDad]

Why not embrace your use of language?

fk being prim and proper!

[loskie]

fkriteoff


My mother used to tell me swearing showed a lack of vocabulary. I used to reply " If I didn't swear mother I'd be restricting the words available to me to use a whole fkin lot more.!"

Edited by loskie on Tuesday 5th April 21:56

[Nova Gyna]

fk civilisation.

[Allegro_Snapon]

My Dad was a Headmaster.

At home he would swear in Spoonerisms to avoid being called out for swearing.

Cooking funt, Gairy hoolies, Bad mastard, Slag fag etc (actually does anyone say Goolies these days for testicles, is that an out of use swear word or was it just a Sheffield expression).

[talksthetorque]

I've tried to stop swearing a couple of times. But then I talk to my colleagues for whom English not their first language, and they seem to swear more than us brits, I guess because it doesn't really have the same shock value in a second language. Listening to Foreign radio they don't remove expletives in English language pop songs either, which may normalise it for them.


But you went to New Zealand so you've got fk all excuses.

[Adam.]

Is this a Kiwi thing? My only NZ friend can’t seem to say a noun without prefacing it with “fking”.

It actually becomes quite irritating after a while, I like a well targeted curse but store it for some impact.


FFS

[Faust66]

My missus tried to give up swearing for the whole of January this year (she gives something up every Jan: smoking (back in the day), drinking or eating meat etc.).

As we are both keen swearers, I suggested she put a quid in a jar each time an expletive 'slipped out'. The money was given to a charity of her choice.

To be fair to her, the first couple of days cost her a few pints worth of money, but she soon settled down and managed it fairly well.

Something to keep in mind: singing along to the Anti Nowhere League's classic 'So what?' would have cost her 19 quid... we skipped that track in the car.

[Muddle238]

Swearing is useful when referring to the local council. Specifically the highways department who come out to fill potholes, but instead spray boxes around them and then go home. Especially when they’ve come out in the ££££ specialist lorry that automatically fills potholes! Useless fkers.

I think it was Stephen Fry who did a good piece about swearing, might be on YouTube.

[Allegro_Snapon]

And try and suggest this as well in certain corners of our province.

My relatives in the Free State just over the water, their kids use the C word all the time (especially if Wayne Rooney is on TV). And the younger generation now seem not only to use the B, C, F and T words but go on the sweary dictionary site "its been so cold in this house I could use me crap to give me Ma an Alaskan Pipeline".

"Sweary Mary" the Nun is a good video clip from Mrs Browns Boys but that does reflect life over the water

[Whats on Second]

the nz swearing thing is interesting,
it's akin to the napoleon complex, small population = mouthy, inbred blowhards.

the rampant number of kiwis of scottish
descent is probably relevant, i spent an afternoon in stonehaven [seemed much much longer ] and the swear words were the only words i could make out.

[glenrobbo]

Without swearing, the English language loses a lot of its' colour and depth of feeling:

"The fking fker's fking fked!"

It's pure poetry.

[DickyC]

One Saturday overtime a colleague asked if I wanted anything from the shop. I asked if I could have a full fat Coke and he said, "On, no. It's much too sweet. I really don't like it and I heartily disapprove." What he actually said was, "Urgh! It's as fk as fk as fk!" but all knew what he meant.

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

I got into the habit of swearing quite a lot for a while then I realised how it made me look bad. I just “minded my language” and now swear occasionally.

So I reckon just make the effort to stop and it will be ok.

[bearman68]

Apparently people who have had a stroke, and cannot speak properly can often (sometimes) swear fluently. Apparently swearing is related to part of the brain that is concerned with emotion, whereas normal speech is controlled by a part which is not this.
It doesn't help your issue OP, but it is nonetheless interesting.

[shirt]

loskie said:

fkriteoff


My mother used to tell me swearing showed a lack of vocabulary. I used to reply " If I didn't swear mother I'd be restricting the words available to me to use a whole fkin lot more.!"

Edited by loskie on Tuesday 5th April 21:56

I remember my secondary school English teacher telling us that swearing was fine as long as it was used as an exclamation mark and not a comma. If every other word was swearing I’d agree with your mum, but otherwise not.

[PurpleTurtle]

I try not to swear in front of our 7yo kid. My wife does too, but forgets easier than I do, which occasionally leads to a frosty discussion.

I do wonder whether it’s all in vain though. He’s probably going to learn a stload of expletives off some fking little at school, if you’ll pardon my French!

If you haven’t heard about the profanity based nod to Wordle, a drinking buddy of mine is the guy who has developed Sweardle

Enjoy, you s!

https://sweardle.com/

[Adam.]

It’s quite the intellectual challenge

[Crumpet]

Isn’t “sup ” the Kiwi version of ‘hello’?

There’s an art to swearing. It adds emotion and passion to articulate individuals with a wide vocabulary. The rest of us just sound like thicko chavs.