Well, I’m going to stick up for “crap.” Even though it’s regarded as being less offensive than “shit,” “crap” begins with a hard-C and that makes it sound more emphatic than the more passive “sh” in “shit.” The reason “shit” is considered a “worse” word than “crap” is purely arbitrary.
“You can’t copulate with a limit.”
(Bonus points for those who get the reference)
Well, OK, so there’s not a direct substitute there. But I am so glad I wasn’t drinking a carbonated beverage when I read that. You could have sold that one to George Carlin 
With regard to other posts answering my earlier one, the other usage of “screw” that can’t be replaced by “fuck,” of course, is the literal one, such as screwdriver. The substitution provides equally comic results.
The other usage that might not be a euphemism is the meaning “crazy,” like in screwball. I don’t know the etyomology but I’m guessing it might go back to “having a screw loose” meaning “crazy.”
But “screw up,” “screw with,” “screw around” are all softened from the “fuck” version.
I chuckled when watching an old Lost episode where Hurley says, “Screw off!” You never hear people say that, and it was clear that we were supposed to imagine him saying, “Fuck off!”
Why wouldn’t it?
Contrary to late 20th century belief “sucks” in this context has nothing to do with oral sex. Its exact origins are unclear but it seems to come form “suck eggs”. It was commonly used in children’s literature up until the 1950s. The idea that it is in any way vulgar is a very, very recent invention and is due to a mistaken beliefe that it has something to do with a blow job.
And the origin of “blows” is clear, and also has absolutely nothing to do with oral sex. The original form was “This blows chunks”.
IOW “This both sucks and blows” is a totally harmless pun based on common derogatory slang terms sounding like two terms that refer to the movement of air. That you thought it was vulgar is just a sign that you have a mind like a Tokyo railway.
Of course I’m sue the writers were well aware that most people thought the terms are vulgar, but they have edged much closer to the line. “Dirty Hoe” seeds purchased from “Sneed’s Feed and Seed (formerly Chuck’s)” are a different matter.
Um, no. Sorry, but I am the only one here to offer any form of dictionary definition and there is no indication that “screwed it up” is, while slang, a vulgar euphemism for “fucked it up”. Supply a credible dictionary definition of what I spoke and…you’ll still be wrong! :middle finger smiley face:
Let’s put it this way. I’m a teacher of 7th Grade. It would go pretty much like this:
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If I said, “Fuck you!”, even as a joke, to a student, I would be extremely reprimanded and possibly fired/suspended. If I did it a bunch, I’d be fired(and deserve it).
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If I said, “Screw you!” even as a joke, to a student, I would be in trouble if someone complained. I could be reprimanded or suspended for it(fired if I did it a lot). I would never do it, but it seems milder and could slip out without absolute catastrophic end of the world…if I apologized.
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If I said, “Whoa. We tried, but this is too fucked up to fix,” I’d be in big time trouble. I would apologize for the error, the kids would giggle and tease me, and I could be reprimanded/suspended, but I might get away with it. I have never made this error, but it’s recoverable if only a few kids hear it and I apologize profusely. I’d feel bad for a long time. They are just 7th Graders.
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If I said, “Whoa. We tried, but this is just too screwed up to fix,” I’d probably be fine, as long as I glossed over it. In fact, the kids would probably not notice.
By the way, where does “sucks” rank for you guys? I said “Ooooh, that sucks” to a student one time and was surprised when they were mildly surprised. Nothing came of it and it was no big deal, but is that bad to you guys?
Inexplicably? Like the rest of us, when he gets scared he shits bricks. Unfortunately, he just happens to do it literally.
Well then, no wonder they were upset. What you said was entirely inappropriate and just plain wrong.
What you should have said, of course, is “whoever”. Nominative relative pronoun, not accusative.
Did you not read Q.E.D.'s post to you? It has a quote from the OED.
And until this thread I never realized or associated “screwed up” with “fucked up”, although it makes perfect sense.
Still, I don’t think “screwed up” is something you shouldn’t say in front of a kid. That’s about as tame as it gets.
Wouldn’t use heck. Really?! Gosh.
But <confused> “heck” is a euphemism… is “H-E-double-hockey-sticks” OK?
Aren’t all such designations of “this word is OK, that one isn’t” purely arbitrary? (Not that this argues against your position, just that it’s not a special case).
That’s pretty much true. I was going to go into more depth on this point in my previous entry but I got called away. In any case, of the two “improper” terms for “excrement,” “shit” has the longer pedigree. According to Slang and Euphemism (2nd Edition), “shit” traces its origins back over 1,000 years to an Old English word for “diarrhea in cattle.” In contrast, the history of “crap” only goes back to the early 1800’s (it was also used to refer to the gallows).
By the way, according to my Slang and Euphemism dictionary, “screw” as a term used to describe sexual activity dates back to the 1700’s. Using “screw” (as in “screw up”) is from the 20th century. As for “fuck,” it’s earliest written attestation is from northern England in 1503 and is of possibly Scots origin.
IIRC FUBAR is a German word, correct?
CMC fnord!
There is an inherent problem with trying to find a dictionary that says that “screwed up” is a euphemism for “fucked up”. If you look up both usages you will find the same definition. You will also find that “screw” is vulgar slang for a sex act. But a dictionary won’t say it’s a euphemism for a more vulgar form, unless possibly the case where it’s phonetically derived from the original, like heck or shoot (see “aleration” notes at bottom of definitions). Similarly, if you look up “crap,” it will say it can mean excrement, but won’t say it’s a euphemism for “shit.” So the lack of a dictionary definition for “screw” as a euphemism for “fuck” is not proof that it’s not.
When I was in college (late 70s) we used to often finish the thought by saying, “That really sucks dick.” That doesn’t mean it was the original source, but that’s the direction it took. Today my wife scolds the children (10 and 13) for saying that something sucks, but I don’t mind. She glares at me if I say it in front of them. I say, “But they say it on TV!” (I don’t use my old college ending.)
My two cents.
IMO “messed up” is not a polite substitute for screwed up or fucked up.
Just because the word takes the same place in the sentence…
I think messed stands fine by itself, without a vulgar heritage…
Until recently, that was true. Now that Whoopi Goldberg told Glenn Beck he was “a lying sack of dog mess,” maybe a page has been turned. Allow me to take another stab at it.
Among the pages of synonyms for the verb and noun forms, you’ll find “congress”. I think it would be difficult to fire somebody for saying, “Somebody congressed this up.”
Congress you bunch of Bowdlerizers!
That’s because it doesn’t mean that!
Every dictionary I’ve looked at, both on line and book, include definitions of the word screw in which it is used in a vulgar context.
Screw Up is not among them, because it is a benign term and not a euphemism for fuck up, especially in the context in which I used it. I don’t give a fig what anyone says!
:smack: Great! Now I started a discussion on the use of the word fig!
I think it’s all about context. I’ve used “screwed up” to mean messed up and no one’s raised an eyebrow. If I say, “the wife walked in and caught him screwing some chick”, well…pretty obvious it’s a euphemism.
And that form of usage is defined as vulgar in ever dictionary I looked at.
In my usage it was a euphemism for botched. Had I said “he botched this up” they could have complained that botched was a euphemism for fuck because they were being over sensitive and ridiculous!!!