Why Do English People Say Bloody?

[Mentat]

"bloody"? I mean whenever I hear an englishman speak in a movie, they always say "bloody", as though it were an epithet or insult of some kind.

What does it mean? Is it profane/vulgar to use it in that way?

 

[Hurkyl]

I'm curious too; it certainly fills the role of a purely emphatic word, but it's unclear (to me anyways) whether the appropriate connotation would be:

It's darned hot out here!

or

It's <other word I won't type> hot out here!


I'm curious about the French word "donc" too, if anyone knows.

 

[Dx]

Originally posted by Mentat
"bloody"? I mean whenever I hear an englishman speak in a movie, they always say "bloody", as though it were an epithet or insult of some kind.

What does it mean? Is it profane/vulgar to use it in that way?

Bloody awesome thread! I too want to know please?
Dx

 

[Mentat]

Originally posted by Hurkyl
I'm curious too; it certainly fills the role of a purely emphatic word, but it's unclear (to me anyways) whether the appropriate connotation would be:

It's darned hot out here!

or

It's <other word I won't type> hot out here!


I'm curious about the French word "donc" too, if anyone knows.

I think "donc" means the same thing as par consequent, which means "consequently" or "hence".

Not positive though.

 

[Andy]

Not sure how too explain what it actually means but here are a few examples to help;

Its Bloody hot in here.

Thats a bloody big gun.

Thats a bloody fast car.

A bloody stupid thing to do.

Could easily replace bloody with damn and it would still have the same effect.

 

[eNtRopY]

In these contexts, you could easily replace bloody with fvckin'.

It's fvckin' hot in here.

That's a fvckin' big gun.

That's a fvckin' fast car.

A fvckin' stupid thing to do.

eNtRopY

 

[Andy]

Thats Bloody Distasteful!

 

[Mentat]

Andy, I had been hoping you'd post. I have one question for you though: is it profane, or vulgar, to use the term "bloody" as in your examples (after all, entropy is right, you could replace it with one of the most vulgar terms in American-English (and I make the distinction very clear, they are practically different languages )).

 

[LURCH]

I have always been under the oppression that "bloody" is one of the more vulgar terms in English (English English, that is). I know that in British films that I have seen in America, words that would not be permitted on regular television are left in, while the word "bloody" is censored.

A friend of mine did some research and returned to me with the conclusion that the word itself has its roots in the phrase "by our Lady". I would have dismissed the suggestion, but this particular friend is a singularly reliable source, so I suspect he is correct.

Can anyone here recall who it was that said the famous quote, "Great Britain and America are the only two nations to be separated by a common language"?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Funny that I would see this thread just as I heard the folowing:
"F..ken eh" is New Jerseian for "INDEED!"

 

[BoulderHead]

Are you blokes done with this bloody thread yet?

 

[Andy]

Using the Oxford English Dictionary,

Bloody, brit, coarse slang.
Expressing an annoyance or antipathy, or as an intensive (a bloody shame)

Bloody is used a lot in England but most people don't think it is that bad to say the word bloody, maybe back many years ago it was considered bad to say the word bloody but now it isnt, in future years will **** be acceptable?

And no i don't think it is profane or vulgar, not any more anyway.

 

[steppenwolf]

Originally posted by Hurkyl

I'm curious about the French word "donc" too, if anyone knows.

frenchies say 'donc' at the end of questions as an expression of annoyance, exasperation, 'mais c'est ou donc?' would be 'where the hell is it?'

 

[Ivan Seeking]

"apples and pears"

translation Brits?

[I hope what I am about to claim is true ]

 

[eNtRopY]

Okay, I took a class in Advanced Semiconductor Physics from a professor who is English. Oddly enough, his life story appeared on the BBC shows 7 Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, and so on... by multiples of 7... you get the picture. Anyway he was a funny guy, and a good professor, if you understand English humor. He was always phrases like back 'er off you bloody bastard.

One time he told us this joke. It went like this... So a English WWII pilot went to an all girls school to tell the girls about the history of the Second World War.

He started off telling his story, "I was flying over Germany, and suddenly I looked over my left shoulder and saw these two fokkers."

The school master quickly interupted and explained to the girls that fokkers were a type of fighter plane that Germans used during WWII.

Then the pilot resumed his story, "Right, so like I said, I looked over my left shoulder and these two fokkers in a messerschmidt!"

eNtRopY

 

[Andy]

there's no Humour like English Humour, just look at monty python.

 

[cmdr_sponge]

Originally posted by Ivan Seeking
"apples and pears"

translation Brits?

[I hope what I am about to claim is true ]

thats easy

stairs

heres a few more;

nuclear sub

liza manelly (or custard and jelly)

skin and blister

loaf of bread.

mostly only the non rhyming part is used as slang. it probably the cleverest thing a cockney can do.

oh yeh and bloddy aint offensive and its never censored on our custard.

 

[steppenwolf]

Originally posted by Andy
Theres no Humour like English Humour, just look at monty python.

haha true, when i lived in france i saw holy grail on tv with french subtitles, they were so clueless a lot of it wasn't even subtitled, they just gave up.

the best thing about the french is that they are clueless when it comes to humour about the french, it took me ages to explain that when people said frogs they meant the french. i couldn't even begin to explain the french guard scenes in that movie...

the only rhyming slang i ever learned was 'take a captain cook' ('take a look', obviously only pertinent in australia), in primary school our teacher tried to teach it to us but it went way over our heads.

 

[selfAdjoint]

Could that be a variant of the old one about King Geoge VI awarding a medal to an RAF pilot. The king, who stuttered, say "F-f-for s-shooting d-down t-three F-fokkers", and the pilot interrupts "It was five Fokkers", and the king replies (W-well, y-you're g-getting one f-fokking m-medal!"

 

[Zantra]

donc in french is the interjection "therefore". Due to the inverted sentence structure it frequently comes at the end of a sentence instead of the way it would be in english.

And since we're on english words, what is a wanker? I know it's an insult, but what exactly does that mean? Time to brush up on my cockney

Another curious fact I learned was about holding 2 fingers up, is the way the english give the finger. In America, it just signifies 2- as in you want 2 of something. Try telling some english waitress you want TWO beers that way and see if she doesn't dump them on your head

 

[cmdr_sponge]

Originally posted by steppenwolf


the only rhyming slang i ever learned was 'take a captain cook' ('take a look', obviously only pertinent in australia), in primary school our teacher tried to teach it to us but it went way over our heads.

i always thought it was buthers hook

 

[Andy]

And since we're on english words, what is a wanker? I know it's an insult, but what exactly does that mean?

Wanker n. Brit. coarse slang1 a contemptible or ineffectual person. 2 a person who masturbates.

 

[cmdr_sponge]

we still use the finger. some times we use the v sign (two fingers)too. depends on what is more approriate. we have a wide and colourfull swearing vocabulary only surpased (i guess) by the germans. most kids only go to school to leran which curse to use in which situation.

the v sign was actually originally directed at the french. during the nepoleonic wars when the french captured archers they cut off their first two fingers of their hands, making them useless. at the start of battles british archers would show their two fingers at the french. or so i was told.

 

[Andy]

****ing french!

 

[cmdr_sponge]

i think ****ing french wuld have been more appropriate

 

[Zantra]

Right! wankers they ought! the 'ole bloody lot 'o 'em!

 

[steppenwolf]

Originally posted by Zantra
donc in french is the interjection "therefore". Due to the inverted sentence structure it frequently comes at the end of a sentence instead of the way it would be in english.

err no, if you use donc at the end of a phrase it's always a sign of frustration, it doesn't mean therefore at the end, normally it's used in the same order as in english.

 

[Zantra]

Originally posted by steppenwolf
err no, if you use donc at the end of a phrase it's always a sign of frustration, it doesn't mean therefore at the end, normally it's used in the same order as in english.

I didn't know that. One of those casual conversation blips that you don't learn unless you live in a french speaking country for a while-blah.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Originally posted by cmdr_sponge
thats easy

stairs

heres a few more;

I will venture some guesses:

nuclear sub

Bathtub?

liza manelly (or custard and jelly)

Television?

skin and blister

Sister?

loaf of bread.

Bed?

mostly only the non rhyming part is used as slang. it probably the cleverest thing a cockney can do.

oh yeh and bloddy aint offensive and its never censored on our custard.

I have heard that cockney in only spoken in the shadow of Big Ben. Is this or was this true?

 

[cmdr_sponge]

cockney is spoken all over, people just use it to sound clever.
u got most right

nuclear sub is the pub tho

and loaf of bread is head.