Cap’n Jack Sparrow says it with some frequency in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I know its origin as an insulting reference to an (old term) sodomite. Is it still considered impolite? Would you use it around your mom or children?
It’s not church language, but (oddly) it’s a much lower-grade profanity than the F-word in colloquial English usage.
Yes, it is still profanity, but it’s pretty mild - along the lines of ‘bloody Hell.’
For example, it probably wouldn’t be broadcast on the BBC before the ‘watershed’ (9pm, the time at which children are supposed to be in bed, and there are stricter guidelines as to what can be shown); however, if it were broadcast pre-watershed, there probably wouldn’t be many complaints about it, as there would be for fuck. It definitely would not ever be used in a programme aimed at children, unless it has a live phone-in and naughty callers, as has happened.
I’m trying to find the BBC’s own guidelines on this, but having no luck so far. I know that they do have a list of swearwords and their levels of profanity.
FWIW, children are often referred to as ‘little buggers’ in an affectionate, non-pejorative way.
A child saying it might get a telling-off, but it wouldn’t be reacted to with enormous shock and horror. You wouldn’t use it in polite company, but it’s not something others in a more informal setting would take huge offense at (though I suppose that depends on the person).
Isn’t it also a verb, approximating ‘fuck’ in meaning (if not ‘offensiveness’)? I believe that’s the context it appears in the PotC movies.
the sort of thing that certain types (the male equivalent of Daily Mail reading WI members, who probably work in insurance, for instance) would say in a hushed voice while allowing themselves a cheeky grin for being naughty (rather as they would for having a rich tea).
Does that help?
Perhaps, if they can decipher all the Britisms in that analogy. 
I suspect that this thread will get better traction in GQ.
Bugger off, thread.
Ofcom, the UK equivalent to the FCC is as vague as the FCC on this issue:
The BBC, however, has indeed given a very amusing list of offensive words and has even categorize them. To avoid offending anyone I will not quote. Insead you can read the list here. Unfortunately bugger is absent from the list.
I was on the phone to our electricity provider the other day and the person fielding my call said “bugger” when she couldn’t access the information she needed. It was inoffensive, but I did wonder whether she would be spoken to if the recording of the call happened to be “reviewed for training purposes”.
There was a series of car advertisements on TV here in Australia a few years ago. They always ended up with someone in a sticky situation saying “bugger”. These were shown in prime time. There was of course some criticism, but they continued for a long time.
That document is comedy gold.
I’m going to make a point of calling someone a “wanker, pussy, bastard” and if they object I can point out that it’s taken word for word from the BBC’s website.
It’s a New Zealand ad actually.
I’m thinking of something a little more specific, that listed ‘what can be said pre-watershed’ ‘what can’t be said pre-watershed,’ ‘what can be said post-watershed,’ and ‘what can be said, but only if it’s the sort of show where any complainant would out themselves as a perve of some sort by admitting to having watched it.’ BBC-specific.
Your link is pretty good, though. 
Given that they’re included ‘God’ and ‘prat’ in the mildly offensive terms category, I’d say bugger is probably moderately offensive. It depends how it’s used, of course - ‘that car’s a bit of a bugger to drive’ is different to ‘bugger off.’
Given that this is now in GQ, a BBC guidelines cite is probably the closest we’ll get to a definitive answer.
Good to know, everyone - thanks!
I’m pretty sure that “Cunt Motherfucker Fuck Cocksucker Nigger” was a song by 2Pac.
I have an Aussie coworker who says it all the time.
I strongly suspect that from her usage in Australia at least it is not a terribly offensive, but also not a particularly polite, word. She seems to use it as I would use “damn” or possibly “shit” – if I was really irritated, anyway, “shit” is a noticeably stronger word than “damn” for me.
“Damn” has been used in G-rated movies (though not, I think, recently) and on primetime children’s television (specifically remember hearing it on “Alf”) for years. “Shit” is one of the infamous Seven Dirty Words. On British TV last fall I remember being quite surprised that a children’s show featuring a giant teddy bear as a doctor (Dr. Bear) had a made-up disease called Sillyass, which they occasionally spelled out to emphasize the naughtiness of. (The rest of the time they just said it while snickering.) I think it may have been aimed at tweens, not small children, but it was hard to tell. I doubt you’d get away with it over here. Funny how these things work. I was surprised and a bit shocked once to hear Spongebob saying “Oh hell!” repeatedly in a cartoon. But then, Spongebob has a lot of slightly risque humor, too, albeit the kind that usually goes over kids’ heads.
Ass, particularly in the phrase “silly ass”, means a donkey to speakers of British English. What you sit on is your arse.
Of course, lots of people would be aware of the US sense of the word, but it would probably not register strongly with children.
2pac never said “cunt” or “cocksucker”. Maybe you are thinking of George Carlin acts. Really great and insightful post otherwise.
That’s a good point, but they certainly acted like it was something naughty. Still, I guess “sounds like something naughty in another dialect” is a bit removed from actual naughtiness. more childish innuendo than anything else. And we certainly have no shortage if that here on TV.
Thanks for pointing it out. I guess Spongebob saying “hell” is still the most shocking moment on children’s television for me. I’m probably sheltered.