# WW2 British Slang **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2013, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706 "2013-03-01T06:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/1 "2013-03-01T06:35:06Z")
Watched an old Foyle’s War episode tonight. Set in England during World War II. A man (possibly military) refers to an grossly incompetent British Army Officer: _“He has no idea what he’s doing. He’s a complete B.F.”_ (That’s what it sounds like he says, and is what the subtitles show.) Does anybody know what “B.F.” might have been short for? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/2 "2013-03-01T06:41:05Z")
I’m guessing ‘bloody fool’. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/3 "2013-03-01T07:07:47Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I’m guessing ‘bloody fool’. OED agrees with you. ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/4 "2013-03-01T17:53:33Z")
It helps an American to be aware that the word “bloody” in such context is grossly improper/impolite/“trashy” therefore an “officer and gentleman” certainly might hesitate to use it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/5 "2013-03-01T19:13:40Z")
I’d be surprised that an officer would be reluctant to swear in such a relatively mild form, although clearly it would depend on who was present of course ( “not in front of the ladies” for eg ). I’d need to see the context. Perhaps the producers didn’t want to swear on prime time TV. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/6 "2013-03-01T19:21:10Z")
Thank you!! ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/7 "2013-03-01T19:40:15Z")
[Obligatory Monty Python RAF banter.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rKYL0tW-Ek&feature=youtube_gdata_player) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/8 "2013-03-01T19:55:19Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I’d be surprised that an officer would be reluctant to swear in such a relatively mild form, although clearly it would depend on who was present of course ( “not in front of the ladies” for eg ). I’d need to see the context. Perhaps the producers didn’t want to swear on prime time TV. Who was his audience? Not you–the characters listening. When Shaw had an actress use “bloody” in [Pygmalion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody), it was quite shocking. That was 1914; by the second war, the word was still rather rude… ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/9 "2013-03-01T23:23:37Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Who was his audience? Not you–the characters listening. Britain, WW2, hospital: A very badly injured man (civilian scientist, about 30) angrily denouncing his supervisor (Army Officer, whose arrogance and reckless incompetence has caused one innocent civilian death and is endangering many more); his listener is a middle-aged high-ranking Police detective, very proper, genteel and soft-spoken. Under normal circumstances the speaker would probably be the same, but given the context of the storyline, the character wouldn’t be in any mood to mince words. I’m assuming “bloody fool” was sanitized to “B.F.” for broadcast (BBC TV). . ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/10 "2013-03-02T00:25:44Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I’m assuming “bloody fool” was sanitized to “B.F.” for broadcast (BBC TV). No, “bloody” would barely raise an eyebrow in a children’s programme, these days. People really did used to talk like that in those days – some of them, anyway. And _Foyle’s War_ was made for ITV, not the BBC. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bob\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_X)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/11 "2013-03-02T00:46:10Z")
How did “bloody” get to be such a bad word? Is it the last survivor of the Elizabethan Christ-references, “God’s blood”, “God’s wounds” (Zounds!), “God’s hooks” (Gadzooks!) etc. or is it a reference to menstrual blood? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/12 "2013-03-02T01:10:17Z")
> [@Bob\_X](#): > > How did “bloody” get to be such a bad word? Is it the last survivor of the Elizabethan Christ-references, “God’s blood”, “God’s wounds” (Zounds!), “God’s hooks” (Gadzooks!) etc. or is it a reference to menstrual blood? Both have been suggested, but my understanding is that there’s no evidence for either. It seems always to have been an almost meaningless intensifier that started out as being fashionable among the upper classes, and then became very popular with the working class, whereupon polite society dropped it like a hot turd. It wasn’t what it meant that made it taboo, it was that it was “vulgar” in the literal sense of being “common”. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/13 "2013-03-02T01:12:37Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > No, “bloody” would barely raise an eyebrow in a children’s programme, these days. People really did used to talk like that in those days – some of them, anyway. > > And _Foyle’s War_ was made for ITV, not the BBC. Ignorance fought. ---
**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 2, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/14 "2013-03-02T02:12:48Z")
Earlier threads on the British use of “bloody”: > **[Is "bloody" still regarded as a profanity in the UK?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=364979)** > > 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... > **[Bleeding Verus Bloody (Brit Slang)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=622909)** > > I was reading the other thread about burke and I thought of this On some British shows, I’ve seen they use the word, bloody. Like a bloody lot of good it does me. Or bleeding lot of good it does me But other characters seem to say bleeding instead... ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/15 "2013-03-02T10:54:48Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I’d be surprised that an officer would be reluctant to swear in such a relatively mild form, although clearly it would depend on who was present of course ( “not in front of the ladies” for eg ). I’d need to see the context. Perhaps the producers didn’t want to swear on prime time TV. Actually, I don’t think saying “BF” would necessarily indicate self-censorship; particularly in this period context. It was kind of an “in” expression at the time: you could think of it as similar to a poster on this forum writing “I call BS” or “I guess you’re SOL” – neither of which indicates a general reluctance to type the word shit, so far as I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![sniffo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@sniffo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sniffo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/16 "2013-03-02T23:55:25Z")
“Bloody fool” is mild. Not the sort of thing that I’d expect an angry soldier to self censor and not the sort of thing that has had any trouble airing on British television for a long time. “Bloody fucker” on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/17 "2013-03-04T03:19:24Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Britain, WW2, hospital: > A very badly injured man (civilian scientist, about 30) angrily denouncing his supervisor (Army Officer, whose arrogance and reckless incompetence has caused one innocent civilian death and is endangering many more); his listener is a middle-aged high-ranking Police detective, very proper, genteel and soft-spoken. Under normal circumstances the speaker would probably be the same, but given the context of the storyline, the character wouldn’t be in any mood to mince words. I’m assuming “bloody fool” was sanitized to “B.F.” for broadcast (BBC TV). > . I’ve seen some BBC shows with language that would make a teenager blush. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/18 "2013-03-04T03:52:42Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Actually, I don’t think saying “BF” would necessarily indicate self-censorship; particularly in this period context. It was kind of an “in” expression at the time: you could think of it as similar to a poster on this forum writing “I call BS” or “I guess you’re SOL” – neither of which indicates a general reluctance to type the word shit, so far as I can tell. Interesting point. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/19 "2013-03-04T06:34:20Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > I’ve seen some BBC shows with language that would make a teenager blush. But not on prime time. In Eastenders (long running BBC soap) the characters would never say even ‘bloody’ no matter how mild we now perceive it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706/20 "2013-03-04T09:30:20Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Who was his audience? Not you–the characters listening. Well there’s also the show’s audience. It’s not a fly on the wall documentary. Bloody might not be the sort of would one would use in front of the family, but I doubt grown men would necessarily shy away from it in that era. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-british-slang/651706.md?page=2)