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Revision as of 04:40, 10 January 2005

Minced oaths are corrupted forms of (usually religion-related) swear words that originally arose in English culture sometime before the Victorian Age, as part of the cultural impact of Puritanism after the Protestant Reformation. The censorship caused people to develop a wide variety of minced oaths to avoid swearing on holy names. They were used for swearing and other types of interjections. With time they came to have a mildly comedic effect.

Since they avoid using profanities or holy words, the minced oaths are not equivalent in strength (likelihood to cause offence) as their derivations listed below. However, some of these minced oaths should be avoided in polite speech (e.g. mofo).

Begorrah = By God
Bejabbers = By Jesus
Bleeding heck = Bloody Hell
Blimey = Blind me
Blinking heck = Bloody Hell
By George = By God
By golly = By God
By gosh = By God
By gum = By God
Cheese n' Rice = Jesus Christ
Chrissakes = For Christ's sake
Cor blimey = God blind me
Crikey = Christ
Cripes = Christ
Dagnammit = Damnation
Dang = Damn
Dangnabbit = Damnation
Dangnation = Damnation
Darn = Damn
Darnation = Damnation
Doggone = God damn or Dog on it
Drat = God rot it
Flaming heck = Fucking Hell
Flipping heck = Fucking Hell
For crying out loud = For Christ's sake
Freaking = Fucking or Frigging
Fricken = Fucking or Frigging
Fudge = Fuck
Fudging = Fucking
Gee = Jesus or Jerusalem
Gee whizz = Jesus
Gee willikers = Jesus or Jerusalem
Gorblimey = God blame me
Good grief = Good God
Goodness gracious = Good God
Gosh = God
Gosh darned = God damned
Heck = Hell
Holy Moley = Holy Moses (?)
Jason Crisp = Jesus Christ
Jebus = Jesus
Jeepers Creepers = Jesus Christ
Jeez = Jesus
Jesus wept = Jesus Christ
Jiminy Cricket = Jesus Christ
Jumping Jehoshaphat = a milder form of Jumping Jesus
Melon farmer = Motherfucker
Mofo = Motherfucker
Mortar forker = Motherfucker
Muddy funster = Motherfucker
My goodness = My God
Sam Hill = Hell
Shoot = Shit
Shucks = Shit
Son of a gun = Son of a bitch
Strewth = God's Truth
Suffering succotash = Suffering Saviour (was made famous by Sylvester the cat, a cartoon character who regularly uttered the phrase)
Sugar = Shit
Tarnation = Damnation

Minced oaths have a long history. Examples used in the 16th or 17th centuries include:

Criminy = Christ
Egad = A God
Gadzooks = God's hooks (referring to the nails in Jesus on the cross)
Od or Odd = God
Odds-bodkins = God's sweet body
'Sblood = God's Blood
'Sdeath = God's death
Zounds = God's wounds

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 * Bejabbers = By Jesus
 * Bleeding heck = Bloody Hell
-* Blimey = Blame me
+* Blimey = Blind me
 * Blinking heck = Bloody Hell
 * By George = By God
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 * Cheese n' Rice = Jesus Christ
 * Chrissakes = For Christ's sake
-* Cor blimey = God blame me
+* Cor blimey = God blind me
 * Crikey = Christ
 * Cripes = Christ

Revision as of 04:40, 10 January 2005

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