# Brit Dopers: How offensive is "Sod off!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084 "2009-07-24T04:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/1 "2009-07-24T04:41:42Z")
Just as a point of curiousity - how offensive is the term “sod off!” What it be equivalent to “fuck off!” Not so much? worse? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/2 "2009-07-24T04:49:22Z")
And where does “feck off” lie? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/3 "2009-07-24T04:57:01Z")
Much depends on context, tone of voice and the relationship of the person speaking to the person addressed. But in principal “sod off!” is pretty strong, though not so strong as “fuck off!”. “Feck off!” is a hibernicism, so the view of Brit dopers will not be particularly authoritative on that one. “Feck off!” is comparatively mild. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/4 "2009-07-24T07:08:52Z")
Sod off is very mild IME. Not in the same league as fuck off, more akin to bugger off. It’s not something I really hear said much these days, but I live in Scotland at the moment where it wouldn’t be a popular expression. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/5 "2009-07-24T08:09:50Z")
Sod off is, IMO, merely impolite. There are situations where being impolite is a big deal - telling Her Maj to sod off is likely to create a shit storm - but it would be your manner which is offensive rather than your language. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/6 "2009-07-24T08:19:31Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > Sod off is very mild IME. Not in the same league as fuck off, more akin to bugger off. Agreed. Furthermore, the respective implications of ‘sod off’ and ‘bugger off’ are pretty much the same, sod being derived from sodomite. It does surprise me somewhat that these injunctions are viewed as less offensive than ‘fuck off’. Stated more formally, I suppose they could both be expressed as ‘Please go and insert your organ into the anus of your choice’, which is really ‘fuck off’ with a different orifice. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/7 "2009-07-24T08:26:42Z")
I feel that sod off is even milder than bugger off. I’d say it in front of my gran but probably wouyldn’t say bugger off. I’d agree with the above that they’re both a lot more acceptable than f\*\*\* off. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/8 "2009-07-24T08:33:35Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > And where does “feck off” lie? “Feck” is Hiberno-English, and isn’t really used in the UK. In Ireland it’s a mildly offensive alternative to “fuck”. My Irish girlfriend was concerned that, when we first met, her mother would be concerned that I wore an earring. I said I didn’t care what her mother thought of it, and my girlfriend translated this to her mother as “He said you can feck off”. I was mortified, but my supposed response was treated with jocularity rather than offense. The term found some traction in the UK following the Irish-made (albeit British-funded) TV comedy Father Ted, but still isn’t hugely popular. ETA: “Sod off” - yeah, quite mild. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/9 "2009-07-24T09:41:51Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > “Feck” is Hiberno-English, and isn’t really used in the UK. In Ireland it’s a mildly offensive alternative to “fuck”. It’s an “alternative” to “fuck” only in the sense that it’s used as an expletive. it has no sexual connotations. When it;'s not being used an an expletive, it’s a verb meaning to steal, and it only applies to objects of small value. You might feck stationery from the office, but you wouldn’t feck three-quarters of a million euro in an armed robbery at a bank. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/10 "2009-07-24T10:05:48Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > Sod off is very mild IME. Not in the same league as fuck off, more akin to bugger off. I agree. Like the terms ‘berk’ and ‘bugger’, it’s become detached from it’s original meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Goosey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/0ea827/32.png) [@Goosey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goosey)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/11 "2009-07-24T10:22:51Z")
“Sod off” is quite rude (though, as others have said, not _nearly_ as rude as “fuck off”) but the word ‘sod’ itself, though originating as a term of abuse, isn’t. If your friend wins the lottery, you might say “Oh, you lucky sod!” and, although informal, it wouldn’t be considered the slightest bit rude by anyone but those with the most highly developed sense of propriety (who might rather euphemistically say “you lucky so-and-so”). Conversely, if something bad happens to someone, you might say “Poor sod!” and it would be considered quite sympathetic. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/12 "2009-07-24T10:51:45Z")
They’re all a bit rude, but can often be said in a joking way that isn’t intended to be rude, amongst friends, if you know what I mean. I’d rank it from least to most offensive: Sod off Bugger off Feck off Fuck off ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/13 "2009-07-24T11:12:28Z")
I’ve always regarded “Sod Off” as being between “Go Away” (or “Push Off”) and “Bugger Off” on the Offensive Scale. So, not polite, but unless you’re directing it at the Archbishop of Canterbury or someone like that, not really all that offensive either. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/14 "2009-07-24T11:43:11Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > It’s an “alternative” to “fuck” only in the sense that it’s used as an expletive. it has no sexual connotations. When it;'s not being used an an expletive, it’s a verb meaning to steal, and it only applies to objects of small value. You might feck stationery from the office, but you wouldn’t feck three-quarters of a million euro in an armed robbery at a bank. Yeah but when you say “feck off” you don’t mean “steal away”. Well, you do literally, I guess, but it is definitely used in direct place of “fuck” a lot. You fecker. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/15 "2009-07-24T12:15:57Z")
This may be of interest: [http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1EAEACA7-8322-4C86-AAC2-4261551F57FE/0/ASA\_Delete\_Expletives\_Dec\_2000.pdf](http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1EAEACA7-8322-4C86-AAC2-4261551F57FE/0/ASA_Delete_Expletives_Dec_2000.pdf) “Sodding” comes pretty far down the list (see figure 1 or appendix 2). ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/16 "2009-07-24T13:59:10Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > I agree. Like the terms ‘berk’ and ‘bugger’, it’s become detached from it’s original meaning. I tend to use the word “berk” a lot so I looked it up, not realising its origin. The page I found explains its origin and some other useful derivations [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A753527](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A753527) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/17 "2009-07-24T14:11:44Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > I tend to use the word “berk” a lot so I looked it up, not realising its origin. > > The page I found explains its origin and some other useful derivations > > [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A753527](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A753527) It just goes to show - even in an article about swear words, with a stern warning at the top of the article, they still can’t bring themsleves to spell out the word (brace yourselves) “cunt”. The closest they get is the story about Gropecunte Lane. The C-word still reigns supreme as the ultimate swear word. Mind you, I’m a bit surprised that they asterisk out “wank” and especially the, to my mind milder ,“wanker”. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/18 "2009-07-24T17:04:33Z")
Oh, please, they wouldn’t even spell out “bollocks.” ETA: Except when they did (“Oh, but that was a different definition, then.”) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/19 "2009-07-24T17:42:43Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > “Feck” is Hiberno-English, and isn’t really used in the UK. In Ireland it’s a mildly offensive alternative to “fuck”. > > My Irish girlfriend was concerned that, when we first met, her mother would be concerned that I wore an earring. I said I didn’t care what her mother thought of it, and my girlfriend translated this to her mother as “He said you can feck off”. I was mortified, but my supposed response was treated with jocularity rather than offense. > > The term found some traction in the UK following the Irish-made (albeit British-funded) TV comedy Father Ted, but still isn’t hugely popular. That’s pretty much the only reason I know it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084/20 "2009-07-24T17:44:31Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > It just goes to show - even in an article about swear words, with a stern warning at the top of the article, they still can’t bring themsleves to spell out the word (brace yourselves) “cunt”. The closest they get is the story about Gropecunte Lane. The C-word still reigns supreme as the ultimate swear word. > > Mind you, I’m a bit surprised that they asterisk out “wank” and especially the, to my mind milder ,“wanker”. That IS strange. I’m as prudish as you can get, but if you can’t bring yourself to write out a cuss, than why are you doing an article on swearing in the first place? Go write a piece about dog shows or something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-how-offensive-is-sod-off/504084.md?page=2)