Do you class knackered as swearing?

[DisappointedD]

I have always thought of it as a mild swear word. A word I wouldn’t want my younger children using but wouldn’t be too bothered by a teen (but not to their grandparents) type word.

There is a current radio ad using the word which made me think about it earlier. I was surprised when I heard it and didn’t think it was a word I’d heard used in ad’s before.

Another one who grew up being told it meant tired after sex! 1980’s child, early childhood in the north (northern parents) and mid teens and above in the south

Nope.

Knackered" (meaning exhausted) originates from the term "knacker's yard," where old, worn-out horses were sent to be slaughtered for their hides and meat, essentially meaning they were "fit to be knackered" (killed/worn out). The word "knacker" originally referred to a tradesman who dealt with these animals, possibly evolving from an older word for harness-maker, and the term gained its modern sense of "tired" in the 19th century.

Core Meaning: To be knackered means to be utterly exhausted, worn out, or broken.

What? It means tired. When has it ever been a swear word?

Not a swear word but quite crude. I remember hearing that only whores and horses get knackered (1970s- 1980s). People now are mostly unaware that this was the context in which it was commonly used, so would not be offended.

It is tired after sex! My mum was told off for saying it when she was young and I was never allowed to say it either.

Wasnt told that was the meaning as child! I was told it was inappropriate and not use it at whatever age Id first said/heard it but later told that was why when I was older 😆.

I used to think it was until John Noaks said it on his spin off series he did. He was rowing and said he was knackered, I remember thinking he had just sworn on children's tv and made me think maybe it's not a swear word lol

Agree. Not sure I would call it a swear word exactly but it had a sexual connotation so not something you’d say around your parents.

You can say you’re knackered in the same company you can say you’ve been bollocked. They’re both referencing the same part of the anatomy but probably only recognised by older generations. It’s been used so much to mean ‘tired’ for tired alone— rather than from senselessly snagging—that it’s become its new mainstream meaning.

I must admit I cringed hard when Keir Starmer said it today in pmq’s. Knackered and screwed, both felt like sexualised language or something and I don’t know , a bit ungentlemanly and unnecessary for a professional man amongst women in a work environment. I guess he is trying to show he has what Kemi Badenoch described as ‘the baubles’ but stooping to that level didn’t suit him too much. Disclaimer it’s a word I use all the time along with all the swear words , but… it suits me better 🤣
I did tell my own mother I was knackered lately and she recoiled.

I disagree as to me bollock can only ever refer to testicles where as knackered means like others have said the old tired horse going to the abattoir or ‘knacker’ which I think probably predates knackers used to describe testicles?!

Has any one heard the advert? I think it’s uber eats, it’s a mum telling a bed time story to her child and she says the mummy was absolutely knackered so ordered take out, something along those lines. Felt even more wrong in that she was speaking to a child.

I have never heard it as tired from sex, no wonder parents didn’t allow it.
In Ireland the knackers yard was where the travelling people lived, if you misbehaved you would be threatened with being sent to the knackers yard, so I assume that is why it is seen as a slur in Ireland.

I wouldn't say it's a swear word. DM would've told us off for using it. I'd definitely think twice about who I'd say it to, as it's just a bit unpleasant.

Good god, what appalling parents must that poor child have.

Knackers are another slang term for balls though. Not massively rude but not totally innocent.

That’s interesting - I haven’t heard that connotation in the UK. The knackers yard was where you took animals (largely horses) to be slaughtered.

Hope this helps

When I was a kid, it very much was a swear word, but has lost a lot of its potency.
I wouldn't be comfortable with a young child using it, but it's kind of an everyday word for many.

Or this for a more reliable source!

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knackered

It was cringe worthy. I'm sure he wouldn't have used those words in his former professional roles. He probably thought it would make him appear down to earth and a man of the people. That's why he keeps going on about how his dad was a toolmaker or whatever he did.

It means 'worn out, no longer fit for use'.
An abattoir is where fit, healthy animals are sent to enter the human food chain; the knackers yard is where you send worn out or sick beasts, ones that aren't fit for human consumption.
The fact men use it as a slur for women who they see as 'well used' doesn't change the original meaning.

Indeed . It landed terribly , particularly when he was discussing violence against women and girls and the whole grok issue. The Kama sutra, screwed and knackered all in one mouthful ? Came across as very misogynistic to me. I’m surprised the speaker didn’t pull him up on it, but a few women on his own backbenches looked unimpressed .

Slang, but not rude in my book. I wouldn't use it with the older generation though. My mum would disagree; she'd say it was mild swearing.