# The British Term "Bloody" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889 "2003-12-04T06:38:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/21 "2003-12-04T14:52:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoGoodNamesLeft \* > \*\*Didn’t they change the title of the Autin Powers movie though? \*\* Only in [Singapore](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/392036.stm): “The Spy who Shoiked Me”. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/22 "2003-12-04T21:22:36Z")
> [@](#): > > How times have changed. George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion “created a sensation because the phrase ‘not bloody likely’ occurs in Act 3.” That was back in 1914. But didn’t “Gone With The Wind” only just scrape past the censors with the use of damn, in the 1930s? ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/23 "2003-12-04T21:59:51Z")
The classic BBC comedy _Till Death Us Do Part_ (source for _All In The Family_) was constantly criticised for bad language in the '60s and '70s, but I’m confident it didn’t contain anything stronger than bloody. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/24 "2003-12-04T22:55:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*The classic BBC comedy _Till Death Us Do Part_ (source for _All In The Family_) was constantly criticised for bad language in the '60s and '70s, but I’m confident it didn’t contain anything stronger than bloody. \*\* Mary Whitehouse once sat down and counted the number of times that bloody occured in an episode and was forever quoting this in her speeches in her "Clean Up TV " campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/25 "2003-12-05T04:04:14Z")
I remember coming across the first link in SDMB archives and thinking, “hmm, I heard a different explanation of where the term ‘bloody’ in the english language came from”. Now I must search where. In case you were wondering, I heard that bloody is a contraction of the oath “by our lady” Hope I can find the cite soon or this post is worthless. ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/26 "2003-12-05T04:08:44Z")
It’s listed as a contraction in the [english2american.com](http://english2american.com) site. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/27 "2003-12-05T07:40:55Z")
And here was I believing all these years that it was a corruption of the oath, “(God) blind me”… I guess that’s what fighting ignorance is all about… ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/28 "2003-12-05T07:42:12Z")
Sorry meant to add that I though “by our lady” was corrupted to “blimey”… again no cite yet. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/29 "2003-12-05T07:59:45Z")
> [@](#): > > by our lady" was corrupted to “blimey” I doubt it. ‘Blimey’ is a contraction of ‘cor blimey’/’gor blimey’ which in turn is a corruption of ‘Lord blind me’/’God blind me’. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/30 "2003-12-05T08:08:10Z")
I never knew what it meant, I just use it…quite a bloody lot 😃 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/31 "2003-12-05T10:34:26Z")
This subject has been covered plenty of times, by the way. Here’s the relevant Staff Report: [What’s the origin of the British slang word “bloody”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbloody.html) It isn’t a contraction of anything. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/32 "2003-12-05T10:50:33Z")
**everton** : You’ve posted four times so far in this short thread. You must have at least some familiarity with it. A quick quiz: The first response to the OP was by **Duck Duck Goose**. What did **Duck Duck Goose** say? How did the OP react to **DDG** ’s post? ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/33 "2003-12-05T10:56:57Z")
Oh yeah, sorry **Duck Duck Goose**. In my own defence, though, I’m clearly not the only one who overlooked that sensible exchange. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/34 "2003-12-05T11:23:08Z")
I feel the urge to whinge that bloody is always called a British slang. It is bloody common in “not Britain, and haven’t been for a bloody long time” too. Sorry just a wee whinge from a past colony…heavy emphasis on PAST ---
**Author:** ![Striss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@Striss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Striss)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889/35 "2003-12-05T16:50:45Z")
Thanks all, consider me enilghtend while still a little confused… lol 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-term-bloody/216889.md?page=1)