Do British people swear a lot

[eggyweggies]

Watching a film where the supporting British "best friend" character swears every two seconds. Is this how we're perceived? I know Australians have a reputation for being sweary...

Australian swearing is amazing. My old boss was from Perth and swore like a sailor. She made me smile daily, usually by shouting "OH FOR FACKS SAKE!" at the computer in the office.

Canadians are fond of a well placed fuck, IME

Scottish people swear a lot more than the English. The English like to be perceived as having a 'stiff upper lip'.

Oh yes, Australians love to swear at every given opportunity.

Er, yes. Americans understand the meaning of the word "cunt." We just respond to it differently for cultural reasons. Some words are considered more offensive in some English-speaking countries than in others. No one in the US would bat an eyelid at the word "bloody," but it is considered a mild swear word in England.

I think we're certainly perceived as saying fuck/ing a lot in films but then they always use the posh accent to portray the English. Either that or a cockney usually as the baddy.

Oh do fuck off.

seasicksal/Jellyboats really?? I am from oooop north too and having moved down to the Midlands a few years ago, I am still made to feel like a sweary trooper. They dont seem to swear here. At all My northern friends/work colleagues and some relatives were all quite sweary. Ok REALLY sweary which may well have influenced me so badly.

I dont like swearing esp since having dc, and wish I could instinctively shout 'oh dear' instead of 'oww fuck, you bastarding twatty arsehole' at the table when I stub my toe for example.

No, it's just people who make films who mistakenly think it's cool and edgy to swear every 2 seconds.

I swear like a trooper. All the time Like My MIL I'm Scottish and most people I know liberally sprinkle fuck in their sentences. Educated, intelligent people, fuck like there's no tomorrow

And I was reminded of my sister's ex who regularly called people a "fuckin cunty bastard"

I'm exceptionally sweary. Also British. Never made a correlation before, but it doesn't displease me.

Bollocks! Well it's not actually. I swear a lot. It's not a reflection of my intelligence, background or education actually. I just like it.

I love the couple from Kent on Gogglebox - they affectionately call each other twat.

Agree that most Americans wouldn't even know we were swearing. I love almost obsolete rude words and phrases. We must have more names for our genitals than any other nation.

I swear like a trooper. Love a good sweary rant. Although not when I write, so much. I'm Scottish though. It's practically on the curriculum here.

Some swear a lot. Some swear a little. And some swear an average amount. Maybe the character to which you refer was one of the ones that swears a lot.

No they don't swear alot especially it depends on the type of person you are hanging about with innit bruv

No, I don't think so. Not compared to Ireland anyway. I have toned down my language a lot since I've lived here

Dunno about the Midlands. Never lived there. But down in London slag can be used as an affectionate term, fuck is like an apostrophe.

People tut up north at knob or tits.

Am intrigued at The North being a bit anti sweary. I'm from Dublin, have spent a lot of time in London and spent many years in Glasgow, places where swearing is as natural as breathing. Did not know The North was imbued with an anti swearing Calvinist spirit.

Outside Britain, swearing is ONLY for the lower-working classes, the very drunk or the insane. I've lived and worked in America, France, Greece (and for short periods in other places) and in the workplace or out in everyday society you just don't hear people swear.

In Britain, if an email bounces back, anyone, the secretary or the CEO of the company would easily and without a second thought say "wanking fucking email - I fucking hate these fucking computers... Bastard computer cunts are running the whole fucking world". If you did this in a US political office people would feint and you'd be fired three minutes later. In France things get "badly broken" while in Britain they get Royally Fucked Up.

Personally, I like it... It's like having a whole second set of vocabulary to play with. I can say "broken" when I need to just as easily as any Frenchman, but when I need a little more I can say "Fucked up like a fucking stupid fucked up piece of shit that's just been fucked over by a fuck grenade full of shit".
I love that and it's OK because people around me will neither freak out or even be surprised.

I rarely use "cunt" though and I think as a society of swearers we've reserved this word for only the worst (or best) of occasions and that makes sense.

If you want a real handle on all this stuff just read "A clockwork Orange" which delves into it and plays with it all brilliantly.

Anyway, piss off you bunch o' cunts, I'm going the fuck to bed.

Fuck you MiniMonty you absolute cocking wank badger.

I swear like a fckin trooper,always have :o. Shock the shit out of people over here,i honestly dont realize Im doing it.

Got a new lab supervisor, AKA BHC ( Barbie haired cunt ) She is AWFUL and hated by all. Ive been given the heads up by a mate in a position of authority at the lab that the fuckin cunt is out to get me canned cos of my "potty mouth". . Funny thing is Ive been trying to keep a lid on it cos Ive found over the years that it takes new people a while to get used to me. I need to keep this job for a year,weve just been bought out and my job will be going away in a year but theres a tidy severance package if we stay (unusual for here ). Ill literally explode if I cant swear when I get stressed/pissed off etc

My best mate here tells everyone its a cultural thing,actually pointed out in a lab meeting that she feels Im being discriminated against because Scottish/British people swear more and cant help it :o

I can swear like a sweary thing, but keep a fucking lid on it because I'm a teacher,:o but one thing I still can't get used to is the casual use of "wank", even by Australians who never ever swear, e.g. "That training session was a sank."

My work colleagues just don't swear. Amazing.