OMG

[NerdGirl]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/61097/

When I see that acronym, and many others, my first thought is usually, "Oh crap! What does that one mean again?" It still takes me a few seconds to process those things.

And I also, I only recently learned that "FTW" means "For the win". I just assumed that the F stood for a different F word, and somehow I got the idea that the TW stood for "The World". I never did understand why people said that when something good happened, but now it makes a lot more sense. "IDK" also took me a while to figure out. Oh, and I've seen Mormon friends say "OMH". Which is awesome. (Oh My Heck, for the resident non-Mormons and non-Utahns who haven't lived with a girl who said that 18 times an hour).

And I'm not even sure what my point is here, but maybe it's that I don't see in my head what the question-asker sees in his/her head when I see "OMG". I see nothing.

[Dragon Lady]

Whenever I see/hear OMG, it really throws me off. Like when a good friend of mine left me a voice mail the other day and started with "O! M! G! …" And my first thought was, "Wait. You're a good mormon girl. Why would you say that?" But I'm also much more of a prude than most. I once got in an argument with a co-worker because he said "What the F" all the time and it bugged the crap out of me. One time he asked me if it bothered me and I said yes, and next thing I know, it became a huge argument between us. Well, mostly him trying to defend himself and me saying, "You asked if it bothered me, I said yes. If you didn't want to hear my answer, why did you ask?"

I typically don't try to tell people what they can say around me. If they say things I don't like, I typically ignore it, whether I like it or not. But if someone asks (or brings it up in a forum), I'll tell you my opinion.

I'm also guilty of saying "Oh my gosh" and such, but in general I try to substitute completely different words. Like, "Oh, curses." (Which, I suppose, might offend someone back in Israel and surrounding areas a thousand or so years ago, but that's another story.)

[Marduk]

This is an argument that I hear frequently, so I'd like to hear a bit more from you on it, if you'd humor me Dragon Lady.

What exactly is it that makes substituting a different word entirely better than substituting a similar word? What would make "oh, muffins!" preferable to "oh, fudge!", for example? I can understand having problems with specific curse words when used by others, even if I don't do it myself. (I don't have problems when others use any around me, other than taking the Lord's name in vain, but that's another argument entirely.) But I've never really understood problems with substitute words.

Also slightly on topic, interesting words that I've heard used as curse words: rats, a few in Tagalog(sp?) from my brother in law that I won't even attempt to spell, shenanigans, ricken-racken, and linoleum.

[ahem.]

Several years ago I was a little hesitant about OMG, and vaguely surprised to hear fellow students using it. But at this point, I really don't think beyond the acronym itself. It is no longer a L.A.S.E.R. or a R.A.D.A.R., but rather laser and radar. To me, it is almost a new word: oh-em-gee.

I've also been known to use WTF, although much more sparingly, and usually in a more humorous setting (like when doing a ditzy teen impersonation, or by taking it a step further from the original and making it Whiskey Tango Foxtrot).

How do you all react to other minced oaths, like "Cheese and rice!" or "Shut the front door!"? I am a little bit less okay with them because I don't hear them often and they immediately force my mind to translate them from their euphemistic state into the less savory original phrase. Perhaps this is how others react to OMG and the like?

[NerdGirl]

How do you all react to other minced oaths, like "Cheese and rice!" or "Shut the front door!"? I am a little bit less okay with them because I don't hear them often and they immediately force my mind to translate them from their euphemistic state into the less savory original phrase. Perhaps this is how others react to OMG and the like?

I'm kind of a fan, although I don't say them myself. My brother used to always say "Slug in a ditch!" when he was in high school if my mom was around and it was always really funny.

[Dragon Lady]

This is an argument that I hear frequently, so I'd like to hear a bit more from you on it, if you'd humor me Dragon Lady.

What exactly is it that makes substituting a different word entirely better than substituting a similar word? What would make "oh, muffins!" preferable to "oh, fudge!", for example? I can understand having problems with specific curse words when used by others, even if I don't do it myself. (I don't have problems when others use any around me, other than taking the Lord's name in vain, but that's another argument entirely.) But I've never really understood problems with substitute words.

Because when I hear the substitute word, I immediately just think of the curse word. This is particularly true for fudge, etc. But substitute words don't affect me nearly as much as acronyms. WTF and OMG I read and don't even read the letters. I read what they stand for. Which is why they bother me. Substitute words I'm trying to change mostly because I find it hypocritical for me to dislike acronyms and be okay with substitute words.

How do you all react to other minced oaths, like "Cheese and rice!" or "Shut the front door!"?

I… have no idea what you're talking about. Honestly, if I heard someone use those as a curse word/phrase, I'd probably just laugh and think they were being extra ridiculous in choosing sub. words. Like on What a Girl Wants when they say stuff like, "I don't give a flying fart in space" or "Holy poo on toast."

[thebigcheese]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned LMBO yet. I hate that one. Because you're taking something that's ridiculous to begin with and making it even worse...

One of my FHE brothers used to say "SON OF A BISHOP!" which usually generated lots of cringes among the more prudent. And one of my old roommates used to say "H" when she got angry, which I thought was pretty funny.

[Tao]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned LMBO yet. I hate that one.

whoa. hadn't seen this before. Even took me a bit to decipher.

Largely weighing in to say that I found the line "I once got in an argument with a co-worker because he said "What the F" all the time and it bugged the crap out of me." quite amusing. I'd say it is somewhat indicative of where the line is crossed for you when 'F' comes across as bothersome, but 'crap' does not. Then again, frequency plays a significant role, I'd say. My roommates were quite fond of the epithet 'douchebag' which led to some... interesting... discussions as I attempted to remind them what exactly it was they were talking about.

Also, in the original post, "Granted, I've grown up in Utah and can't recall ever hearing anybody use the acronym the real way." rather surprised me.

[Katya]

I've also been known to use WTF, although much more sparingly, and usually in a more humorous setting (like when doing a ditzy teen impersonation, or by taking it a step further from the original and making it Whiskey Tango Foxtrot).

But—but—Whiskey is against the Word of Wisdom!

[bobtheenchantedone]

We say and write OMG in my house, but we pronounce it differently - ahmg. That's the word.

We've always had our own swear words, and at one point my mother even regulated them. Mostly because one of us would come up with a cool word and the others would all copy until mom got tired of it. My most recent ones are 'blast' and 'flip.' My brother likes saying things like "what the helm." We were once admonished by my little sister to say "oh my Fred" after our own Fredji.

[Dragon Lady]

Largely weighing in to say that I found the line "I once got in an argument with a co-worker because he said "What the F" all the time and it bugged the crap out of me." quite amusing.

Bahaha. I didn't even catch that. I told you I'm much more sensitive to acronyms than substitute words.

No, seriously. I'm still laughing about this.

[krebscout]

How do you all react to other minced oaths, like "Cheese and rice!" or "Shut the front door!"?

I… have no idea what you're talking about. Honestly, if I heard someone use those as a curse word/phrase, I'd probably just laugh and think they were being extra ridiculous in choosing sub. words. Like on What a Girl Wants when they say stuff like, "I don't give a flying fart in space" or "Holy poo on toast."

ahem's examples aren't as innocent as that. They're meant to look and sound like specific unsavory oaths, like "olive juice" is meant to look like "I love you" from far away.

[Dragon Lady]

I suppose I should be grateful for my sheltered upbringing, huh?

[Imogen]

my new curse words of choice is "balls." it's very short, handy, and fun to say. teaching has made me more careful of my language. in normal circumstances when i'd want to curse, i have to come up with something else. usually a loud noise or something totally random like "drats."

i don't mind acronyms because i always forget there are words represented by them. i get the sentiment, so i just read the letters.

[UnluckyStuntman]

my new curse words of choice is "balls." it's very short, handy, and fun to say.

Oh man, this slays me. BALLS. BAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!

[Marduk]

I'd like to mention that I'd be slightly MORE offended by "balls" than by an actual curse word. Although that still puts it almost nowhere on the offense scale, so I suppose it isn't saying much.

[NerdGirl]

Two things:

-We were in some yuppie little gift shop today where my dad was looking for a present for someone, and there were a bunch of cutesy little signs with different acronyms written on them and what they stood for underneath, and there was one that said "OMG: Oh My Gosh".

-One of my office mates seems to think that "balls" is like a really bad swear word. He swears like sailor in his everyday speech, but "balls" is what he comes out with when he's really, really mad about something. Usually it's when his code wasn't working. One day he was sitting over in his corner with his headphones on quietly muttering obscenities at his computer, and all of a sudden he just yelled, "Balls! BALLS!! Ergo, BALLS!!". It was hilarious, and "ergo, balls!" has become everyone's new inside joke.

[Tao]

One of my office mates seems to think that "balls" is like a really bad swear word.

Your associate isn't British by chance? Amazing how word impact shifts across the states, much less across the pond. "Bloody" comes to mind. Americans use it to affect a British persona, and you can find it in kids shows here, yet for some, there are few if any stronger swearwords.

Akin to that, language differences understandably play havoc on expectations. Having attended an Idaho high school, I'd learned the vast majority of (Mexican) Spanish curses somewhat swiftly. Yet this notwithstanding I was surprised to find one of my default mutterings "que diablo?" (What the devil?) Blanched the face of an individual who could wax quite eloquent in Spanish swears.

[Yarjka]

Amazing how word impact shifts across the states, much less across the pond. "Bloody" comes to mind. Americans use it to affect a British persona, and you can find it in kids shows here, yet for some, there are few if any stronger swearwords.

"Fanny" is another one that I was surprised to find had a completely different meaning in Britain. It's really bizarre how certain words become vulgar and others become acceptable - I suppose that's the beauty of language, though.

I'm reminded of my friend who had never in his life heard the c-word, and so when he heard it in a movie and I apologized for not remembering that the film had bad language, he said he hadn't noticed anything. I was wondering how he couldn't have noticed, then realized that the word really just had no meaning for him whatsoever. I envied his innocence.

[thebigcheese]

Heh. The c-word. I think it's funny when people talk about swearing and resort to this.

At any rate, the p-word is one that bothers me. Back home, it's DEFINITELY considered profanity, with approximately the same vulgarity level as the s-word, or maybe a little less. But I've heard tons of BYU students use it without a second thought. That was one of the big surprises I got when I first came out here.