November 2, 2015

MONDAY'S MOUTH: The Truth Behind "Bloody"

The Truth Behind "Bloody..."

I often wonder about swearing and cursing...I personally don't like swearing and cursing. But let's be honest, it slips in those strongly emotional times. And then I've got all these different characters I am working with, and let me tell you, only 25% of them have a clean mouth. The other 75% use swearing and cursing like if they existed in real life. Of course, I'm talking about the pirates and criminals and villains and rough-around-the-edges heroes and good guys partaking in the Remmington Pirates book series.

Honestly, I am going to clean up their obscene language and dial it down, so readers can use their imagination if they want to insert the swearing while they're reading it, by all means go ahead, for I will simply put "So-and-so cursed..." or "He..." or "She cursed..."



I am also incorporating cleaner, more polite versions are of curse words that I am comfortable with (such as 'bloody') and what would have been used back in the 1600s-1700s time period.

Henceforth, what sort of obscene language did the people in the Renaissance and Early Modern England use?

Maybe I should cover that I different day, cause today I am looking at the origin of "Bloody".

"Bloody" rose to popularity in the 18th century - the time my book is set in (how convenient!). 

"Bloody" was a word "that shocked and offended the ears of polite society" (Morh).

Jane, Alexandra and Martha Remmington (the heroines from my Remmington Pirates book series) are going to be shaken and shocked and offended being forced into the underworld of pirates... For, they're upbringing is rooted in being respectful and honourable and holding themselves to the high standards of the nobles and upperclassmen around them, not the ones above the law or the rough men (that are also noblemen and upperclassmen in the military ranks). Hearing the phrase, "The bloody cheater," burned the Miss Remmington ladies' ears.



Now, I have some questions about, how offensive is this word, "bloody" is. Why do some people think it's a curse word? What makes it a curse word, especially when I think of it as being the adjective "bloody"?

I found that the legend of the word "bloody" is that it was "often supposed to be a corruption of the old oaths 'by our blood' or 'God's blood', but this is all false" (Morh). Which I am glad for... Another source said that this theory of deriving from these oaths "seems far fetched" (etymonline.com).

So, the two truths some have found to be more accurate, I believe both of the following conclusions are right.

Truth option #1: "Bloody" as in the adjective for actual blood, as in "covered in blood" (Morh) or "bloodied; bloodying; to make bloody" (etymonline.com).

Truth option #2: "Bloody" referred to the habits of aristocratic rabble-rousers at the end of the 17th century, who styled themselves "bloods." Hence, "Bloody drunk," then meant "as drunk as a blood" (Morh).
"It is connected with" the bloods of nobles, "in the slang sense of 'rowdy young aristocrats' via expressions such as 'bloody drunk' as 'drunk as a blood'" (etymonline.com).


Sources:
Etymonline.com 
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bloody

Morh, Melissa. 
http://www.salon.com/2013/05/11/the_modern_history_of_swearing_where_all_the_dirtiest_words_come_from/

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