Any Brits out there?

=Frustration.

It used to be considered vulgar but the frequency of usage of four letter words in the British media has reduced its shock factor. (Note Prince Charles
overheard usage of "bloody man" as a muttered aside at a recent press conference....he was not critcized for the choice of words, only for his lack of tact)

It's not something you ought to say in front of your maiden aunt, certainly. On the other hand, truly foul language has increased exponentially in Britain in the last couple of decades, especially among the young, so most people would forgive you if you uttered nothing worse than "Bloody hell" after dropping a hammer on your toe, for instance.

I recommend the alternative of the American Dorothy Parker:

What fresh hell is this?

thanks for your answers, especially to fresco, as you can speak from the horses mouth. i'm having a debate with someone who thinks this expression is considered quite vulgar-- my argument is, why would the brits put it on tv then? then again, tv standards have changed over time...still, it does seem like it's an expression you'd say when the hammer falls on your toe.

bloody hell is totally innocuous

something my maiden aunt says all the time when hammering wooden battens on the wall and hitting her thumb.

on the other hand my maiden aunt is not totally innocuous, ever.

Re: Any Brits out there?


My word! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth??

It's not a big deal...for example, my parents would never use the "F" or (imagine) the "C" word but have no big problem with Bloody Hell.

In fact, its origins are rather odd: "Bloody" is a contraction of "By our Lady" as an alternative to "By our Lord" and (if I remember it correctly) was used after the departure of the Church of England from the Catholic faith (post Henry VIII).

Catholic use of prayer to the Virgin Mary was largely abandoned in the CofE and the use of "Bloody" was therefore origninally ironic, not to say blasphemous.

That's the story as I remember it...I haven't looked it up again so I may be slightly off target but the point remains.

As for the use of "hell" - here in England it seems we are less reluctant to use the term than in the USA, where "heck" regularly substitutes...see the thread "Heck is where you go if you don't believe in Gosh" for further information.

KP

Re: Any Brits out there?


Mild stuff - either in the case of suprise or frustration.

As in:

"Bloody hell, just look at all the Pommies on this forum!"

I used to say bloody hell when I was about 10 and I thought it was really grown up.
I think its quite tame in comparison to other words but its a downward spiral from then on to the land of Pottymouth.

It's not known who dreamed up the idea that "bloody" was a contraction of "By our Lady", but I don't think any serious lexicographer believes it, or ever has believed it. It is strictly an urban legend, like the one about "ring-a-ring-a-roses" being a memory of the plague.

hey, thanks to all, especially you brits, for discussing your angle on my question-- funny, informative responses, which is what i was hoping for. very lively. thanks.

and, seeing as the topic is brit-talk...what's a pommie?

A polite term for the English employed by the residents of Oz . . .

in which connection, let us remember that in the middle of last century "bloody" was often called "the Great Australian Adjective", and was celebrated in this poem:

A sunburnt bloody stockman stood
And, in a dismal bloody mood,
Apostrophised his bloody cuddy;
"The bloody nag's no bloody good,
He couldn't earn his bloody food
A regular bloody brumby. Bloody!"

He jumped across the bloody horse
And cantered off, of bloody course!
The roads were bad and bloody muddy;
Said he: "well spare me bloody days
The bloody Government's bloody ways
Are screaming bloody funny. Bloody!".

He rode up hill, down bloody dale,
The wind it blew a bloody gale,
The creek was high and bloody floody.
Said he: "The bloody horse must swim,
The same for me as bloody him,
It's something bloody sickenin'. Bloody!".

He plunged into the bloody creek,
The bloody horse was bloody weak,
The stockman's face a bloody study!
And though the bloody horse was drowned
The bloody rider reached the ground
Ejaculating: Bloody! Bloody!"

You're supposed to recite it in an Oz accent, of course.

If irritations were measured on a scale of one to ten, here is a list of the responses used by myself and 99.9 of my co-workers and friends. You will find that some of them are Northern (British) expressions:

Irritation factor:

1 = Blimey

2 = Bloody Hell

3 = Bollocks (that's in Shakespeare so it's ok)

4 = **** (also in Shakespeare)

5 = Shite and Bollocks

6 = F*ck

7 = I don't f*cking believe this!

8 = F*cking Bollocks

9 = B*stard, ****, shite and bollocks

10 = supercalafradgelisticexpealidosious

Ta Ta! :wink:

By the way, Gala, i was being facetious . . . when the Australians refer to the English as "pommies," they are not being polite at all . . . the word is often combined with the word "bastards" . . .

How dare you!...you...you...offspring of bloody convicts! :wink:

I ain't no Strine, i'm 'Merican . . .

Setanta, if you completed your bloody profile, I would already bloody know that! My profile, on the hand, is most informative! x