Use of Acronyms, Slang and Metphor's

[John of Japan]

Any of you other old codgers remember these words as being "minced oaths"?

 

[TCassidy]

Almost no one remembers any etymology of those words

I do. And JoJ does. And probably a few others of our age do too. It tends to be a generational thing.

 

[TCassidy]

Any of you other old codgers remember these words as being "minced oaths"?

Yep. And taught my kids the same way. Granted they are now 52 and 43 but they also taught their kids the same. My grandkids wouldn't think of using "sissy swear words."

 

[John of Japan]

Yep. And taught my kids the same way. Granted they are now 52 and 43 but they also taught their kids the same. My grandkids wouldn't think of using "sissy swear words."

We taught our boy the same way. Now he writes theological essays and tomes--intelligently.

 

[agedman]

I do, too.

I grew up with the air blue, and turning the air blue.

Such never leaves, and to my shame, over the decades minced words were used in the company of others in toleration for the real thing.

It should never be.

There is nothing wrong with yes and no.

To say to an ugly woman, "That is a pretty dress" is not the same as, "You look pretty in that dress." Though that woman may take it as such.

"It is never right to do wrong." Dr Bob Jones Sr.

Btw, I make that same application to how police operate, circumstances do not dictate right and wrong. If it is wrong to lie, it is wrong for a policeman to lie during interrogations.

If it is wrong, it is wrong, and professionals who are charged with upholding what is right have no business using what is wrong.

 

[Salty]

Any of you other old codgers remember these words as being "minced oaths"?

Ditto!

 

[Sapper Woody]

The word "gender" has gradually come to mean the same as "sex."

I would have to disagree with you there, brother. They began to mean the same thing, but now they don't. In the world's eyes sex is defined by your anatomy, while gender is defined by what you identify as.

There's even a word, "cis-male", that describes us. Men whose gender and sex are the same.

I'm not saying that I agree with all this, but it's another part of the English language that has been hijacked by the LGBT+ crowd.



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[agedman]

I would have to disagree with you there, brother. They began to mean the same thing, but now they don't. In the world's eyes sex is defined by your anatomy, while gender is defined by what you identify as.

There's even a word, "cis-male", that describes us. Men whose gender and sex are the same.

I'm not saying that I agree with all this, but it's another part of the English language that has been hijacked by the LGBT+ crowd.



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I don't think we should stray too far into the biology, but just to state that replacing the term sex with gender is not unthoughtful, nor is it unwarranted.

1). Both biologically and psychologically there are those who are not gender specific, some given both.

2). Then there are those who God has given over no matter their physical.

3). Then there is the label given to some Californians by Swarzenegger, "girly men."

If for no other reason, the first should be sufficient to replace the term "sex" on an application.

 

[Reynolds]

The use of expletives and acronyms such as those mentioned in the OP, and minced oaths (words to tone down the above mentioned expletives) is a sign of a poor grasp of the English language. Our society is becoming more and more immune to such language, unfortunately. I have found heathen Japanese to be much more civilized and polite than Americans in this regard, even on the Internet.

Such expletives are classified by linguists as "taboo" language. Here's a definition: "taboo word A word known to speakers but avoided in some, most, or all forms or contexts of speech, for reasons of religion, decorum, politeness, etc. Thus in some societies the word for 'death' is taboo, and is accordingly replaced in most forms of speech by a metaphor, euphemism, or some other figurative or roundabout expression" (P. H. Matthews, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, p. 400).

Let's cut to the chase. Did Jesus or any Bible writer use taboo words? Of course not! Do you want to be like Jesus? Of course you do. Then don't use taboo words. It's as simple as that. Taboo words offend people. (The only possible "taboo word" in the whole NT is "dung" in Phil. 3:8, skubalon in Greek, but both the Greek and English words are perfectly acceptable.)

By the way, the OP title is mistaken in its terminology. Simply because it is a slang word does not mean that a word is taboo. For example, who here on the BB would object to slang words such as "cool" or "awesome"?

The title also mentions metaphors, which the Bible is full of, and which are almost never taboo. Consider "light of the world," "good shepherd," etc.

My College English professor, Dr. Somebody, cussed like a drunken sailor.

 

[Reformed]

How in the world do you know this stuff? Did you do a survey or something? You are generalizing from your own thought processes, not making statements of fact.

You are correct, sir. I know what those minced oaths mean, my wife does, my daughter does, the church I preached at does, my bible college professors know...I can go on ad infinitum, ad nauseaum. Maybe in the Rev's world, it is a non-issue. Generally speaking, society does not give much thought to the words they use. This is evident in the church. Thank God for those parents and churches that teach/preach on displaying a godly Christian character in all areas of life.

 

[John of Japan]

I would have to disagree with you there, brother. They began to mean the same thing, but now they don't. In the world's eyes sex is defined by your anatomy, while gender is defined by what you identify as.

There's even a word, "cis-male", that describes us. Men whose gender and sex are the same.

I'm not saying that I agree with all this, but it's another part of the English language that has been hijacked by the LGBT+ crowd.

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You make a good point. Let me narrow my semantic focus. On an application form, "sex" and "gender" mean the same thing--unless it is a liberal organization or business handing out the form. In that case, "gender" may be an attempt to escape reality.

 

[John of Japan]

My College English professor, Dr. Somebody, cussed like a drunken sailor.

And thus Dr. Somebody proved his ineptness in English and lack of qualifications to teach the course. Most of the greatest works of English literature had no taboo words: Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe, the works of H. G. Wells, 1984 (If I remember correctly), etc.

 

[Reynolds]

And thus Dr. Somebody proved his ineptness in English and lack of qualifications to teach the course. Most of the greatest works of English literature had no taboo words: Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe, the works of H. G. Wells, 1984 (If I remember correctly), etc.

My point was that even people who command the language do not necessarily choose to speak proper. I remember the first day in his class, he said something like I write the Queen's English but speak the regional dialect.

 

[John of Japan]

My point was that even people who command the language do not necessarily choose to speak proper. I remember the first day in his class, he said something like I write the Queen's English but speak the regional dialect.

I grant you your point--and still think the prof was incompetent. To use taboo language in an academic setting shows a lack of understanding of effective communication, linguistics (the term "taboo"), psychology, and a number of other disciplines.

Unfortunately, such incompetence is spreading in America. I recently received an email ad from B&N advertising a self-help book from some NYT list author--and the very title had gutter language.

 

[John of Japan]

You are correct, sir. I know what those minced oaths mean, my wife does, my daughter does, the church I preached at does, my bible college professors know...I can go on ad infinitum, ad nauseaum. Maybe in the Rev's world, it is a non-issue. Generally speaking, society does not give much thought to the words they use. This is evident in the church. Thank God for those parents and churches that teach/preach on displaying a godly Christian character in all areas of life.

I agree completely.

 

[OnlyaSinner]

Any of you other old codgers remember these words as being "minced oaths"?

First time I've seen the term "minced oaths" is in reading this thread. However, the meaning is obvious and I'm very familiar with the concept. (Cannot recall what it was called in my circles, however, something like "gentle cussing" or some such euphemism.)
Lying is wrong in all circumstances, but Paul tells the Ephesians to be "speaking the truth in love." Years ago, Dr. Dobson wrote (and I'm paraphrasing from distant memory): "Speaking the truth in the absence of love can be a particularly cruel form of selfishness."

 

[John of Japan]

First time I've seen the term "minced oaths" is in reading this thread. However, the meaning is obvious and I'm very familiar with the concept. (Cannot recall what it was called in my circles, however, something like "gentle cussing" or some such euphemism.)
Lying is wrong in all circumstances, but Paul tells the Ephesians to be "speaking the truth in love." Years ago, Dr. Dobson wrote (and I'm paraphrasing from distant memory): "Speaking the truth in the absence of love can be a particularly cruel form of selfishness."

Very good. But I'm not sure of the relevance of Dr. Dobson's quote.

Paul also said, "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Col. 4:6). To me, that leaves out any taboo language: cursing, gutter language, minced oaths, etc.

 

[OnlyaSinner]

Very good. But I'm not sure of the relevance of Dr. Dobson's quote.

Paul also said, "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Col. 4:6). To me, that leaves out any taboo language: cursing, gutter language, minced oaths, etc.

Completely agree with the lower paragraph. I added the Dobson reference because I've heard folks blurt out truths when silence would have been preferable, because they wanted to insult or belittle the other person.

 

[John of Japan]

Completely agree with the lower paragraph. I added the Dobson reference because I've heard folks blurt out truths when silence would have been preferable, because they wanted to insult or belittle the other person.

Okay. "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." Not Scripture, but certainly echoing Scripture. " Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding" (Pr. 17:28).