What does this mean "I am nuking you into the dark ages "

[bubblysouffle]

I live in a country where English is used but children's case workers may not necessarily understand the English nuances and history of the dark ages.

Ex partner is English, and sent me message:

" Expect a nuclear response" and " I am nuking you into the dark ages " .

What does this mean to an English speaking person ? nuclear ? nuking...dark ages....

I need to show the mumsnet english speakers interpretation.

Thank you for your help.

I interpret this as ‘I will destroy you/destroy the children.’ His vengeance will be hate-fuelled, unstoppable, and harmful to the point of death. I take this as a death threat.

I am afraid that I agree with @TheVanguardSix. I would take this very seriously and be concerned about my safety and that of the children. I'm worried that the police won't take this thread seriously as evidence though. Would it help if you consulted a solicitor (if you can) to write a letter to explain how these phrases would be understood and viewed by the legal system here?
I hope you get your children back soon

He's taking a cue from the current exemplar of toxic, aggressive masculinity currently residing in the Kremlin. In this context, its a metaphor:

I will respond to your (real or imaginary) provocation with such force that life as you know it will be completely destroyed.

OP your ex is a narcissist and is basically trying to make you back down by convincing you that he is more powerful and can destroy your whole life. I'm so sorry you're in this situation, it's eerily similar to a situation I've been in myself and I know the pain and frustration of the police doing nothing to help

I think he's threatening to kill them

He's threatening to destroy their and or your lives, metaphorically or literally.

It's a very serious threat either way.

I note how the language he's using is the language of terrible extremes. I concur with those who interpret this as a threat to metaphorically 'blow up' your life, and a nuclear bomb is the worst possible type of bomb - something with effects so huge and so terrible its use is almost unthinkable. With the 'dark ages' I read an implication that your life will be unrecognisably bad in comparison to how it has been before. And with both, I read a finality - this is not something you could come back or rebuild from in any meaningful way.

A nuclear response is a reference to the biggest escalation possible.

The dark ages comment is about sending you into total devastation.

I don't think that you ca with certainty use internet opinions on a phrase to build your case.

It's a metaphor. It could also mean, I'm making it finally, decisively and utterly over.

Going nuclear can just mean seriously the end. Or someone at their most angry (which does not inherently imply actual violence, as the phrase can be used by eg mothers to DC, but rather that it's a hugely important matter)

Hello thank you all. This will be helpful. You see, he has disguised his threat so the locals do not see it as an open threat.

All these comments will help because it is how English speaking people perceive this threat. There is no room to say , "It is just a joke. You misunderstand what he means. "

I would interpret it as a threat to devastate your life by unspecified means, but which do include murdering the children.

it is how English speaking people perceive this threat.

So you'll show the police your evidence, which is a poll you conducted on Mumsnet?

This whole story sounds so chaotic. Hope the kids are safe wherever they end up

I showed the message and it was lost in translation and no action.
As I said, the threat in the message is hidden well, and won't be understood by those who do not understand western history.

I need them to take those words seriously.

@bubblysouffle

I'm pretty sure that any cop, anywhere in the world, has heard of a nuclear bomb.
To go nuclear and to nuke are both metaphorical (unless he's Putin) threats of extreme measures.

It is open to interpretation really whether it means he will use violence or whether he will use other means, but there is no ambiguity that is a warning/threat that if you don't do what he wants you to do that he will DESTROY YOU.

If they won't take your word for it, you need to show the context of the conversation and if the above interpretations don't wash, the following might:

These are 3 of the most respected English language dictionaries in the world.

Merriam-Webster definition

Some of it refers to actual nuclear weapons, but aside from that it also provides the following:
“to become furious; to resort to drastic measures in an attempt to undermine an opponent."

Collins dictionary

to get extremely angry and start behaving in a forceful or irrational way as a result

Cambridge dictionary

an extreme way of dealing with a situation or solving a problem:
Shareholders threatened the nuclear option of kicking out the entire board.

Bottom line? Whatever he is going to do to you, it will be nasty and destroy you.

If he's English, I wonder whether the British embassy or consulate where you live might be able to help in that the children might be deemed to be British?

A police officer in the UK would unequivocally interpret those messages as extreme threats.

You do but a thread on here isn’t the way to do that

He has already taken extreme measures by taking the children, stopping you from seeing them and removing them from school. That's drastic enough. He is now threatening the nuclear option i.e. even worse than you can imagine.

You must be terrified and so very sad to lose your little children.

As an aside, and I know that you want to keep this thread focused on the meaning of those threats, but if you could provide some more information, we might be able to offer additional advice.
A few questions:
Where in the world are you?
Where is he and the children?
Are you married?
How long has this been going on?
What nationality are the children?
What nationality are you?
Does he have dual citizenship with England and another country?

The Dark Ages followed the fall of the Roman Empire. In practice, and in different places, it mean the depopulation of cities because the rule of law did not exist to procure food for an urban population. (The population of Rome was as much as 1 million, maybe more, but that relied on the "corn dole", mass imports of grain from Egypt, civil order, etc.)

Roads and other forms of architecture built by the Romans broke up because there was not the expertise nor the procurement (again, rule of law needed for materials to be sourced and transported) to maintain them.

He is threatening to nuke your ability to maintain a normal life and normal relations with your children. Have you got any way of showing the social workers how he is going to do this: has he made accusations about your fitness (i.e. threats to your reputation), or would they understand that his escalation draws you into a legal battle so total that you won't be able to work, or afford your house?

His actions as described above sound so extreme that the social workers must consider them a provocation: what normal parent could or should tolerate taking children away? Such actions are also so extreme that they amount to alienating you from your children: how can he explain cutting you off except by painting you as deranged or a danger to them?

TBH I don't think police in the UK would act on that language. Yes, 'going nuclear' is a slang term for making an extreme response, but it is not an explicit threat. It could mean he is going to harm you or the children, but it could also mean making an extreme but legal reaction. It is an ambiguous phrase and on its own it is probably not enough for police to act on, even if they did understand the idiom.

Are you in the UK though. Because surely you just show then the txt they understand the meaning...

But honestly I think you need to stop focusing on the exact meaning of this text and concentrate on going to court

Op you are misinterpreting the ‘dark ages ‘ as being a referral to a point in history . His comment is a absolutely a threat , if you continue to act against him he is going to take action that is going to be as devastating as he can possibly make it. Maybe lies to make it much harder to gain custody of your children, it sounds like he has a plan of action in mind. He sounds unhinged and not at all a person I would want my children to be living with . I’m sorry, but yes I’d definitely say it was a threat against you

That's not a misinterpretation. Saying you'll send someone back to the dark ages view whatever method is a fairly common metaphor using the reference to that period of European history to make a point.