Not in my experience. None of those words are particularly suitable for conversation over tea and cakes with the Queen, but ‘bloody’ is fairly tame. Child actors utter it in the Harry Potter movies.
In the version released here of FWaaF Hugh Grant definitely uses the word Fuck.
In fact, he says, “Fuck, fuck, fuckity-fuck”.
Different version of the movie for different areas?
I like to use my mother as a measure for how profane a word is (she’s 81, British middle class, talks a bit like the Queen and has never having uttered a swear word in her life as far as I can tell, for your reference), i.e. ‘would I say this in front of Mum?’
My father says ‘bloody’ and ‘bugger’ fairly often, would never in a million years utter ‘fuck’ or even ‘shit’. My mum’s not keen on him saying ‘bugger’ but puts up with ‘bloody’.
I would use the word ‘bloody’ in front of her, if sparingly. I might even exclaim ‘shit’ if emphasis required it (but I’d say it softly under my breath when I’ve banged my thumb, for instance. I wouldn’t loudly exclaim ‘that’s SHIT’ in front of her). I would be highly unlikely to say ‘bugger’, and would rather die than say ‘fuck’ in front of her.
That’s very weird. We’re talking about the same scene, yes? Hugh Grant is the one about to be married when he suddenly learns that Andie MacDowell is available again and realizes he’s making a big mistake marrying Duckface. He says a series of “Bugger,” and then he’s interrupted by a priest passing through. That’s the scene we’re talking about, yes?
That’s very strange.
It strikes me that you can never very well justify the degree of taboo associated with a word by reference to its literal meaning – taboos are almost always irrational, aren’t they? In the case of bloody, in particular, there’s no etymological evidence that it ever meant anything other than what the plain word suggests – from its earliest appearances it’s been used as an almost meaningless intensifier.
The best explanation I’ve seen is that it fell victim to fashion and snobbery: initially something of a favourite among the upper classes, it was taken up with great enthusiasm by the working classes somewhere around the mid-to-late 18th century. The subsequent revulsion among polite society to the word had nothing to do with its actual meaning (however much people may have tried to justify it in those terms) and everything to do with what its use suggested about the character of the person using it.
Sampiro’s characterisation of bloody as “vulgar” is dead on, I think: it was never obscene or blasphemous, it was unspeakable because of its association with the crude and coarse common people.
Ah, sorry. No, “Fuckity fuck fuck” is at the very start when Hugh Grant is late for the very first wedding in the movie. My bad.
Anyway, here in the motherland of coarse language, “bloody” and “bugger” are considered very mild indeed.
Of course, you have another ‘coarse’ word that is so bloody useful: bollox!
As in:
I got bleedin’ bolloxed last night
Good jaysus, the bollox o’you!
Fuck off, ya little bollox!
Just buy a new one; that one’s bolloxed.
I will in me bollox!
or how about cunting that’s a useful one.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Ships and the Sea, the word “cunting” , used for the furrow between the twisted yarns of a rope, is now considered “vulgar” , ahnd has been replaced with the marginally more rrefined “Contline”. (Similarly, the “cunt splice” is now called a “cut splice”).
This, but the way, puts the lie to the “never”
in [BWotNot**'s complaint abovre. Sometimes a word is considere vulgar precisely because of its meaning. This is what you get when you let a bunch of horny sailors come up with your technical terminology.
Is there some other use for the word “cunting” besides this nautical one?
If there isn’t one there should be one. Women these days have such dirty mouths themselves it’s hard to piss them off with a mere word, but “cunt” seems to do nicely.
There is constant escalation in the war of the sexes and we may have stumbled upon the F-bomb of the 21st century.
Just as an expletive,
“Move you cunting car before I fucking kill you” etc.
I’ve also heard “cunting bastard”, “two-faced cunt”, “cuntface”.
I knew a lawyer who was reported the state bar for calling a female adversary a “cunt.” It’s highly offensive for most people.
It’s just not that offensive here. Seriously, we’re potty-mouths par excellence.
Modern, refined version:
“Move your contline car before I freaking kill you!”
Naahhhhh! Doesn’t work.
I’ll bear witness to this. I mean, it’s not a word that would that you’d want to direct towards your boss, say, or your mother-in-law (well, maybe you would), but it just has much more conversational uses than it does in the states. For instance, my MIL might refer to a group of people (usually politicians, knowing her) as “a right shower,” knowing full well that the full phrase is “a right shower of cunts.” She’d consider it crude to use the full phrase, but not forbidden.
An Gadai, you’re in Swords, right? She’s in Portmarnock. Practically neighbors!
And no, she’s not posh. 
Feck!
Ah, good. I was getting worried there.
I am indeed. Portmarnock isn’t as posh as cunting Malahide. 
Well, fair enough, “never” may be a little strong, but I think you missed my point a little. To say that “cuntline” is offensive because of its meaning is surely begging the question. Why is the word “cunt” taboo? Is this universally true?
I also think that there’s a useful distinction to be made between vulgarity, obscenity and blasphemy.
Chaucer seems to have regarded “queynte” as merely vulgar, if that.