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This is a list of idioms that were recognizable to literate people in the late-19th century, and have become unfamiliar since. As the article list of idioms in the English language notes, a list of idioms can be useful, since the meaning of an idiom cannot be deduced by knowing the meaning of its constituent words. See that article for a fuller ...
The word means "to utter forcefully" and appeared as early as the year 1541. [37] Shit: see under "Profanity" Swag is not an acronym for "stuff we all get," "secretly we are gay," or anything else. It comes from early-19th-century slang for a thief's booty or loot. [38] [39] Tip is not derived from the phrase "to insure promptness" (prompt ...
Linguist Geoffrey Hughes found eight distinct usages for English curse words, and fuck can ... was established by the mid-to-late 19th century, and has been ...
Sometimes, everyday speech just can't convey your meaning. You need words with a little more oomph ? expletives.
Originally the phrase was, "all wind and piss" (19th century). [23] ... It was used as a mild curse word. It was used to replace other words seen as blasephmy.
Writers sometimes face the problem of portraying characters who swear and often include minced oaths instead of profanity in their writing so that they will not offend audiences or incur censorship. One example is The Naked and the Dead , where publishers required author Norman Mailer to use the minced oath "fug" over his objections. [ 24 ]
Pardon my French" or "Excuse my French" is a common English language phrase for asking for excuse for one's profanity by the humorous assertion that the swear words were from the French language. It plays on the stereotype of Gallic sophistication, but can be used ironically.
The English word "vulgarism" derives ultimately from Latin vulgus, "the common people", often as a pejorative meaning "the [unwashed] masses, undifferentiated herd, a mob". ". In classical studies, Vulgar Latin as the Latin of everyday life is conventionally contrasted to Classical Latin, the literary language exemplified by the "Golden Age" canon (Cicero, Caesar, Vergil, Ovid, among othe