I use holy cow, gosh darn it, etc. I’m around kids and strangers all day, they don’t need to hear swear words coming from me.

Anonymous wrote:Is it a regional or cultural thing when people say things like this? Pretend swear words just seem ridiculous.

Real swear words are worse.

It's a "who you want to be" thing. My grandma is born and raised in NYC, and the worst word she ever said was sugar, for shit. My mother, born and raised in NYC would say shit, but only dropped an F-bomb once or twice in her entire life. I, born and raised in NYC, swear like a sailor among friends, but among little kids say "Whoopsie daisies!" or "Whoopsie doodles!" and at work never curse.

I clicked to see if this was my Aunt posting!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it a regional or cultural thing when people say things like this? Pretend swear words just seem ridiculous.

this seems very mormon to me

Kicked my trash is another Mormonism.

If it’s between “holy f***” or “holy moly” and I’m in earshot of people I don’t know, I’m going with “holy moly.”

And I’m not Mormon or Baptist, as some PPs suggested. I’m just a trashy mouthed heathen who tries to be mindful of not unintentionally offending others.

I’ve been known to drop a ‘fiddle-sticks’ when things get heated.

If it’s affected, it’s annoying. But if it’s genuine, I think it’s sweet. My elderly aunt says “piffle” and “oh crunch” and occasionally one of my other relatives will drop something and say one of those things, and it’s sweet. I can see how it would just be attention-seeking from some people, though. Very virtue signaling.

Anonymous wrote:Is it a regional or cultural thing when people say things like this? Pretend swear words just seem ridiculous.

this seems very mormon to me

It’s a baptist thing so you hear it a lot in the south. Also a Mormon thing.

I love pretend swear words, especially ones made up on the spur of the moment, or only used by that person!

The usual swearing is so boring and basic. Be a little creative!

Anonymous wrote:It's just polite. I've lived in this area my whole life (48F), and the older I get, the more I'm aware that other people might overhear me and my typical sailor's mouth!

If I'm just with friends, I'll swear. If I'm in public and there are other people around, especially kids, I enjoy saying "gol-dangit" or "goodness gracious."
Don't let it upset you, OP.

This. I was a raging potty mouth in my 20s. Once I became a mom and a regular volunteer in kid-focused settings I worked really hard to default to things like darn and jeez and other silly things so that I didn’t have to make a habit of apologizing for introducing young kids to the f bomb.

In certain environments I do still swear but it feels better to know my instinctive expletives are G rated.

I roll my eyes at these people. Just cuss if you need to cuss.

It's just polite. I've lived in this area my whole life (48F), and the older I get, the more I'm aware that other people might overhear me and my typical sailor's mouth!

If I'm just with friends, I'll swear. If I'm in public and there are other people around, especially kids, I enjoy saying "gol-dangit" or "goodness gracious."
Don't let it upset you, OP.

Is it a regional or cultural thing when people say things like this? Pretend swear words just seem ridiculous.