# Is "bloody" still regarded as a profanity in the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394 "2006-03-29T14:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/1 "2006-03-29T14:15:13Z")
Twenty-some years ago, I was in the UK and was told that “bloody” was the equivalent of “fuck,” and would never be used in polite company. These days it seems much more commonplace - has it been drained of its offensiveness for most Brits? Under what circumstances would it still be unacceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/2 "2006-03-29T15:07:31Z")
It’s not as offensive as most other swear words, but you wouldn’t use it in polite company. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/3 "2006-03-29T15:11:41Z")
> [@Dominic Mulligan](#): > > It’s not as offensive as most other swear words, but you wouldn’t use it in polite company. What exactly doe it mean? And are there dual uses for the word? For instance, if you cut yourself would it be acceptable to say your hand was bloody from a cut? ---
**Author:** ![Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fromage_A_Trois)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/4 "2006-03-29T15:15:41Z")
It’s an adjective, so not really the equivalent of “fuck” - closer in usage to “fucking” but nowhere near as offensive. “Bloody Americans and their misuse of our profanities!” One wouldn’t exclaim “Bloody!” but may have an outburst of “Bloody hell!”. As **Dominic Mulligan** said, it’s not polite, but is a rather tame swear word. It’s a bit too tame for me - I tend to avoid it :). ---
**Author:** ![Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fromage_A_Trois)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/5 "2006-03-29T15:21:03Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > What exactly doe it mean? > > And are there dual uses for the word? For instance, if you cut yourself would it be acceptable to say your hand was bloody from a cut? I never associate a specific meaning with it when used as a profanity. It’s just used to demonstrate your disatisfaction with something. “The bloody car’s packed up again!” doesn’t literally mean that your broken car has blood on it, just like “Fucking traffic!” doesn’t mean you believe the cars in the queue are copulating. It can be used to describe something that has blood on it, as you suggest, but normally one would say “my hand has blood on it” rather than “my hand is bloody” because of the confusion you may cause. “Bloody what? Bloody sore?” ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/6 "2006-03-29T15:23:25Z")
IThis point actually just came up in the UK. An Australian ad campaign with the tag line “So where the bloody hell are you?” just caused a stir in the UK and a lot of confusion in Oz. [http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18403923-5001022,00.html](http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18403923-5001022,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/7 "2006-03-29T15:25:49Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > What exactly doe it mean? > > And are there dual uses for the word? For instance, if you cut yourself would it be acceptable to say your hand was bloody from a cut? It’s perfectly alright to say your hand is bloodied / bloody when cut. It’s used in mostly the same contexts as where “fucking” and “pissing” would be used. i.e. Jesus BLOODY Christ, my foot, you moron! Jesus FUCKING Christ, my foot, you moron! Jesus PISSING Christ, my foot, you moron! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/8 "2006-03-29T15:29:10Z")
> [@SuperTramp](#): > > Right, you’re bloody well right > You know you got a right to say > Ha-ha you’re bloody well right > You know you’re right to say 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/9 "2006-03-29T15:42:27Z")
Americans hear that Brits find it offensive and wonder what’s the fuss. Everyone gets a little bloody while shaving, what’s the big deal? It’s a vestige of Christian faith: Originally it was an invocation of the Passion, Scourging, Crown of Thorns, and Crucifixion of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the Onlybegotten Son of God (as filmed most bloodily by Mel Gibson). That’s what’s the big deal. The faith itself may be gathering dust on the metaphorical closet shelves of Britain, but the emotional charge it attached to the word survives long after its relevance is forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/10 "2006-03-29T15:43:57Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > Under what circumstances would it still be unacceptable? You won’t hear it on kids’ shows\*. You won’t hear a politician use it (unless they’re quoting Shakespeare). It’s something my mum\*\* might use when miffed, I can’t imagine she has ever used the f-word. - Tho’ you might hear _flippin’ 'eck_ \*\* Think _Margo_ from The Good Life. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/11 "2006-03-29T15:43:58Z")
The religion got dropped from English ejaculations of similar origin, for example “Gazdooks!” (\< God’s hooks, i.e. the nails of the Crucifixion). ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/12 "2006-03-29T16:12:49Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Americans hear that Brits find it offensive and wonder what’s the fuss. Everyone gets a little bloody while shaving, what’s the big deal? > > It’s a vestige of Christian faith: Originally it was an invocation of the Passion, Scourging, Crown of Thorns, and Crucifixion of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the Onlybegotten Son of God (as filmed most bloodily by Mel Gibson). That’s what’s the big deal. > > The faith itself may be gathering dust on the metaphorical closet shelves of Britain, but the emotional charge it attached to the word survives long after its relevance is forgotten. I read once it was a contraction of “By our Lady”, ie: Mary (Virgin, Monther of Christ, etc.). I can see it, especially given the Gadzooks: “By our Lady”, “B’Lady”, “Bloody”. Still Christian, of course. So: Cite? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/13 "2006-03-29T16:35:48Z")
So do Brits find it disturbing that the phrase is commonly used in the Harry Potter movies? These are clearly aimed at children, even if they have grown darker. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/14 "2006-03-29T16:45:35Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s a vestige of Christian faith: Originally it was an invocation of the Passion, Scourging, Crown of Thorns, and Crucifixion of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the Onlybegotten Son of God (as filmed most bloodily by Mel Gibson). That’s what’s the big deal. My understanding is that the origin of “bloddy” as an emphatic word are by no means clear and settled. I once read a boomk (by, I think, Ashley Montague) that listed something like 14 suggested origins for the word, including the two given above. Some seemed more likely than others, but none was entirely convincing. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/15 "2006-03-29T16:49:20Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > So do Brits find it disturbing that the phrase is commonly used in the Harry Potter movies? These are clearly aimed at children, even if they have grown darker. Not really. I think I read a Roald Dahl book when I was small which had a character describe another as a “pissworm”. It’s hardly something that’s worth getting worked up over. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/16 "2006-03-29T17:28:28Z")
Learn something everyday. I always took “bloody” to be more or less like saying “damned”. I stand corrrected. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/17 "2006-03-29T18:43:49Z")
There has been a cultural change in the UK over the last fifty to seventy years. Before the war, bloody would not have been said in front of ‘respectable’ women or children, but was common among working class men. The F and C words were more rarely used still. Bloody was rarely heard on radio/TV until the early seventies, and despite the fuss caused by rock groups and dramatists in the sixties and seventies, the F word was rarely heard on TV or printed in newspapers until the late eighties. The C word is still largely unacceptable on TV, but becoming less so and is now often spelled out in full in newspapers. Bloody has become largely inoffensive to all but a few (usually elderly) people. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/18 "2006-03-29T21:25:04Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > There has been a cultural change in the UK over the last fifty to seventy years. > Bloody has become largely inoffensive to all but a few (usually elderly) people. A friend in the UK told me that while “bloody” is largely inoffensive, “bleeding” can still raise eyebrows. True? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/19 "2006-03-29T21:28:05Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > …The C word is still largely unacceptable on TV, but becoming less so and is now often spelled out in full in newspapers… Would that be “Christ”? “Cunt”? “Cocksucker”? “Constable”? “Conservative”? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394/20 "2006-03-29T21:34:16Z")
Cthulhu? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bloody-still-regarded-as-a-profanity-in-the-uk/350394.md?page=2)