# You swear like a truck driver. Or a longshoreman. Or...? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116 "2009-06-26T23:23:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/1 "2009-06-26T23:23:26Z")
Okay, so do truck drivers and longshoremen really swear more than those in any other professions? I think tree guys swear quite a bit–at least, the ones who took down a huge Modesto ash tree from my back yard swore for 10.5 hours (7 hours one day and 3.5 the next–it was a big-ass tree). “Why is it taking three god damn guys to do a one-person job?” “Why don’t you pick up that small shit?” “Because you’re fucking dropping logs over there!” And so on. I can understand this, since it was quite stressful and involved being in high branches and using chain saws and such. Still, I’d like to know if any studies, unofficial or not, have been done on who actually swears the most in certain occupations. And why are truck drivers and longshoremen the archetypes for this? ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/2 "2009-06-26T23:35:33Z")
I swear like a sailor. Not like **Sailor** , but like a sailor. Navy penchant for irreverant swearing confirmed by several enlisted family members. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/3 "2009-06-27T00:14:16Z")
I swear like a God damned mother fucking son of a bitch. Is that allowed? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/4 "2009-06-27T00:20:55Z")
My brother-in-law is a timber cruiser, and he swears more than just about anyone else I know. However, my dad comes in a close second, and he actually is a truck driver. ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/5 "2009-06-27T00:28:34Z")
Shit Piss Damn Fuck Hell ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/6 "2009-06-27T00:32:18Z")
After I converted to Judaism my Stepdaughter complained that I still swore like a Christian. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/7 "2009-06-27T00:59:27Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > My brother-in-law is a timber cruiser, and he swears more than just about anyone else I know. However, my dad comes in a close second, and he actually is a truck driver. What’s a timber cruiser? ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/8 "2009-06-27T01:16:08Z")
I heard mule skinners swore a lot. My dad’s a retired sailor, and I sure did learn new words and compound words when he stubbed his toe. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/9 "2009-06-27T01:22:04Z")
I am a GODDAMN, Non-Commissioned Officer in the US FUCKING Army, and you want to know what profession swears the most? That’s as easy as a $2.00 whore on nickel night at the Arcade. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/10 "2009-06-27T01:23:39Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > What’s a timber cruiser? He works as a contractor for paper companies and lumber companies. Basically (I’m not an expert on this) he goes out into the woods and surveys their holdings, e.g. how many board feet of lumber per acre, what percentage of trees are diseased, what’s the average diameter, what’s the average height, etc. He spends a lot of time camping outdoors and living in motels. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/11 "2009-06-27T02:28:57Z")
Soldiers like me tend not to give a fuck how offensive their words are. ---
**Author:** ![T.Slothrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@T.Slothrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Slothrop)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/12 "2009-06-27T05:06:06Z")
I swore in almost every sentence as a soldier. Then I had kids and stopped. (stopped swearing I mean.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/13 "2009-06-27T05:22:38Z")
> [@T.Slothrop](#): > > I swore in almost every sentence as a soldier. Then I had kids and stopped. That’s fu…that’s darn funny! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/14 "2009-06-27T05:35:50Z")
Bullockies had a reputation for colourful language. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/15 "2009-06-27T15:08:20Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Bullockies had a reputation for colourful language. What the eff are Bullockies? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/16 "2009-06-27T15:23:20Z")
Bullockies are/ were bullock drivers. Bullocks were castrated cattle- I guess similar to an ox. They used to haul heavy loads over a century ago. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/17 "2009-06-27T15:35:39Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I swear like a sailor. Not like **Sailor** , but like a sailor. Navy penchant for irreverant swearing confirmed by several enlisted family members. Me too; my dad was a squid, my brother was a squid, and my Grandpa Bailey was a _career_ squid (retired as a CPO; fought in the Pacific in WWII). While he was still alive, Gramps elevated cursing to an art form, creating colorful stand-alone vulgarities and amazing curse combinations that would make Baptists swoon. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/18 "2009-06-27T16:24:31Z")
An old dutch idiom is: “vloeken als een ketter” - to curse like a heretic (ketter, from Cathar). ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/19 "2009-06-27T17:45:35Z")
I swear like a sailor and I sweat like a pig. Longshoremen outswear sailors, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116/20 "2009-06-27T18:11:44Z")
Oil field workers. Holy fuck, what a bunch of god-damned potty-mouths. Having spent an isolated stint on the oil patch I returned to civilization and met an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. After about 10 minutes of conversation he was taken aback and said, “Do you realize that you’ve said ‘fuck’ about 150 times in the last 10 minutes?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-swear-like-a-truck-driver-or-a-longshoreman-or/501116.md?page=2)