chat

Endorsing this answer and adding some more info and examples.

Etymologically: blasphemy comes from ancient Greek, meaning "hurtful speech". In the Christian context, this was extended to mean impious speech, or taking God's name in vain. Euphemy, in contrast, "good speech", includes ways religious people modified these invocations against God to avoid blasphemy. Damn > darn ; God > gosh; sacré dieu (fr) > sacré bleu. Of course this is not just limited to religious speech: shit > sheesh; fuck > fudge; putain (fr) > purée.

More etymology on the terms we use to discuss these categories of words: "vulgar" = of or relating to the common people (i.e., not "polite society'). "Profanity" = religiously impure (literally "before the temple", i.e., before being consacrated).

In a state with laws which reflect this Christian tradition, blasphemy is considered impolite, antisocial, and absolutely a corruption of the youth to allow children to hear such words. This is how these words get tied in to legislation which also prohibit other vulgarities. This is why you can't say "God damn" on American public radio or tv. These laws often blanket ban the words without any mind to context. Sometimes they loosen them, however, so you might hear "damn" on the radio, but they censor the entire phrase "god damn".

Cross-culturally, common insults, vulgarities, or invectives involve invoking the taboo: what's impolite or improper to talk about in the culture? Scat/urine (shit, piss, s/cum, pissintunicus(medieval Latin), sex or sexual organs (dick, douche bag, fucker, pendejo(sp), dirtbag/scumbag (referring to a used condom)), blasphemies (go to hell, God damn you, hostie de tabernak(fr-ca)). What animals have a negative reputation (ass, cow, ayı(tr), bitch)? In what ways did you or your family break social norms (bastard)? Bonus if any of these overlap (mother fucker, ppb).

Note that a lot of profanities and insults are misogynist in origin. There are some obvious ones that refer to female genitalia or to female promiscuity, but even "Son of a bitch", "mother fucker", and "bastard", while all directed at a male referant, impugne his mother's character within the patriarchal system.

“porco dio” or god-pork/pig

"Mary mother of god" must really throw them into a Protestant crisis. Is it idolatry if they claim it's swearing?

Nor are knob, fanny, bollocks, or bellend. Buncha wankers.

cries in British colony

There’s a chain of pubs in the U.K. that are part of the Sam Smiths brewery, and that’s in their rules.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/historic-huddersfield-pub-reopening-focus-28450700

lmao this bar I go to has this one fascist who is fairly well known for being a huge reactionary dork, and one night I bullied him out of the bar prompting him to complain about me to the bouncer who came over and was gonna ask me to leave so I just explained that he was a piece of shit and once maced one of my friends.

So friday night on my way into the bar all I got from the bouncers was "hey watch out your buddy [redacted] is in there, just try to ignore him".

The dives I go to will probably let you throw a few punches before they consider throwing you out.

I think a lot about the time I was at MicroCenter (sort of like a best buy) in Brooklyn, and nine inch nails Closer came on the store radio. I was like "what's the fucking point of a radio edit of this song??"

It wasn't a radio exit.

"I want to fuck you like an animal" loud and clear.

Well done, whatever store employee probably just plugged in their phone or connected Spotify.

The radio edit of Everlast's "What It's Like" is butchered to hell. "He pulled out his xxx xxx talked some xxx and wound up xxx."

A local radio show I used to listen to at work about 10 years would say "god damn" all the time. Back then I thought it was a sign of progress because nobody seemed to care, when maybe in the late 90s/early 00s, people would have thrown a fit hearing that.

I listened to the same show a few weeks ago, and now they censor "god damn" among other cuss words they used to allow.

good song and album though

cant offend religious freaks

Hasn't the name of God changed a bunch? I mean, doesn't the el in a bunch of names mean god? Every time you say Michael or Raphael or whatever your saying his name in vain

bum is on the swedish

swedish

I was raised southern baptist and I can assure you that these people exist.

I mean like you can't say damn or hell in kids media in the US. It will get you a PG-13 rating. They classify it as bad language.

I had a teacher in middle school (Texas) tell me off for using hell, saying it was a swear word.

The one singular American Mormon I have ever encountered in my entire life considered them swearing. I am a line cook in a kitchen, I think she would have literally, not figuratively, literally fainted in shock if she were to listen in to a long weekend dinner rush in the kitchen.