10 replacements for swear words

Swearing is an interesting phenomenon.  When you grow up, there is a point in your life that you feel somehow just a little bit older after your first swear.  That swear didn't just spill off of your tongue like it does now, it came out with trepidation like a timid squirrel looking for a nut.  You thought about it and instead of your stand by pseudo-swear, you blasted out with your first honest to goodness real swear.  It felt liberating and yet somehow a little bit wrong.  You wondered if anyone that mattered heard you.  You know.  A sibling, Mom, Dad, Neighbors, God, anyone that might disapprove of your recent baby-step into adulthood. This blog is about the words you said before you started shooting off live rounds.

10.  Gosh - Some think this comes from a different exclamation 'Land o Goshen!'  A Biblical reference.  Most seem to think of it as a replacement for taking Gods name or designation in vain.  Another Biblical reference.  It's a sin to take God's name in vain, but nobody said anything about his nickname right?

9. Darn - Often used in conjunction with Gosh, Darn is probably one of the most used pseudo swears there is.  Swearing is a matter of degree and frequency if someone never swears or produces anything in an exclamatory way, ANY word used in such a fashion can be assumed to be a swear.  Growing up, when my mom said 'Darn it!'  everyone knew she meant it!




8. Son of a Gun - This swear from Old England lends us its use comes in exchange of a harsher term that insults both the individual and the individual's mother.  The actual origin is very interesting and worth a look.

7. Consairn it - Prospector talk. Consairn it was likely developed for television
and movies back in an age when tv and movies reflected how we hoped to see ourselves instead of who we are, or the lowest common denominator of who we are.  Another great prospector swear (heard only by their trusty mule) was Dad Gum.

6. Golly Gee - Favorite of 'the Beave' Golly Gee can be separated or put together for extra emphasis or used separately in separate circumstance.  Golly used alone indicates amazement or disbelief.  Gee is used to express amazement or sadness. Used together it is usually a word of dismay ex: 'I'm Grounded?!  Golly Gee'

5. Crap - A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  This pseudo-swear is mostly used to describe someones posessions. For some reason the harsh counterpart to this word ends up being one of the first real swears that might usher us into feeling older than we probably are.







4. Fiddle dee dee - Scarlett O'hare used this one not as a swear, but more a dismissive term.  It doesn't really have much play today and yet, if you tried to use it, I'm sure that you would be laughed at.  Probably louder if you were male.

3. Fetch -  Awww Fetch.  Oddly enough I've only heard this used by the more pious folks wishing to voice their disdain of a situation.  Not unlike darn, fetch seems to have had its start in the early 80's and moved into near obscurity by the year 2000.  If you know someone that uses that term regularly, they probably went to BYU.

2. Racksa Fricksen Ricka Sicken Rack- Most of the other entries are easily recognized, this one may be a bit harder.  That's because it's a translation from what I think I heard as a kid watching cartoons.  When the road runner thwarted Wile E. Coyote, He would wander off muttering something akin to that under his breath.  Translation?  none.  This swear comes straight out of the mind of Mel Blanc.  I still say it from time to time.











1. Fudge - The mother of all swear words, except it isn't fudge.  If you've seen A Christmas Story, you need no more explanation.  If you haven't.  I recommend it.







Eventually I will have written about everything.  Some days I feel like I'm pretty close.  Come back in 15 days or so and see if I can pull something else out of my...brain.