would you define the word 'bloody' as being rude and offensive?

Question

i am just wondering whether so-called rude words, such as bloody, become less and less offensive as times move on. are there any other words that were once derogatory but are now harmless and deemed as acceptable to use in today's society? when i was a kid at school and living in london, whenever someone else mentioned 'bloody', they would get told off by the teacher for example. yet, these days you can say that word and not offend other people. are there indeed any rude words that were considered as being not socially acceptable back during their days but of which are now socially acceptable for people to use?

please do not use this as an opportunity to attack or slag off other people giving intelligent and thoughtful answers to this question

if you want my opinion, then i'd say bloody is not offensive in today's age. alas, its good to say 'bloody hell' for example

to edison- i agree with you completely. i do worry that with the F and C-words for example, the more they are used and as years progress, the more likely they will lost their impact to offend and people will say it more and more often

to 5yellowchips: sorry, but i wasn't being offensive. i was as i previously stated, asking whether this word was offensive and rude, according to people such as yourself. if you have reported me, then well frankly, i am dissapointed. you for one have taken this out of context

Answer 1

It's so common, it's lost it's impact. In the 1960s it was considered so rude that it wasn't allowed on TV before 9:00 pm and programmes after that were limited to 8 bloodys an hour.

Answer 2

An awful lot depends on context - if someone is complaining about the weather, say, - 'It was raining so bloody hard I couldn't see', then the word is directed at the weather, not the person they're speaking to. On the other hand, if someone says you're a 'bloody idiot' or similar, it strengthens the insult.

As you say, swearing seems to have become more common, certainly in the UK. It's lazy; easier to stick in a 'bloody' than to think of something more descriptive. Bloody is fairly mild, but I'd prefer not to hear it. Again, context - even mild swearing can sound horrible on a radio or TV programme because it's beamed into your home & somehow feels more personal. In the street it's usually a passing thing that someone says to someone else & you happen to overhear. I do wish people would keep their bloody bad language to themselves, though! Especially when children are around. I noticed it at a festival last summer, everyone on the stage seemd to use the f-word when they were talking to the audience. I felt uncomfortable because my kids were there - it felt as though I was endorsing it.

As for the 'f' word, I'm sick to death of it. Can someone please invent some new swear words? I'll start. I am sick to death of hearing the nerkin' f-word.

Answer 3

I wouldn't say it in front of somoene's mum or gran, but overall I am with those who think bloody hell is nothing in today's world. unlike those seriously rude words chavs and others seem to love spewing like sewage round the world.
As was pointed out, however part of it is context. One would not go about saying pass me the bloody anything at the table, but when things are otherwise casual and going well, and someone show you something you admire--like a Christmas Gift, a bloody hell in appreciation seems quite appropriate, as would a bloody hell used to accentuate amazement in a new discovery, or as a mild swearing if things muck up.
I ought to train myself to say bloody, or bloody hell over my computer when it farks up. It would sound much more pleasant than what I usually utter!
--That Cheeky Lad

Answer 4

I personally consider "bloody" to be offensive but it's better when people use "bloody" as an expletive rather than the alternatives (e.g. "f" and "c" words), so although I find it offensive, it is probably not as offensive as others. Also, the word "bloody" is used to describe something bleeding or covered in blood, so it is obviously not considered to be rude and offensive in this context.

Answer 5

I asked a teacher this question when at school 60 years a go and was told that 'bloody' was a contraction of the oath 'By our Lady Mary' used by catholics during the reign of Mary, Henry VIII 'sdaughter, it was changed to Bloody Mary by protestants and then shortened to 'bloody ' as time went on. May be a myth but sounds right to me

Answer 6

Bloody Mary isn`t swearing as it`s a drink,& as you rightly point out as time moves on the word "Bloody" is being toned down what is worrying is that other more expletive words will they in time to be considered the norm I hope not as that would cheapen our language to the point that some people may not wish to learn a language with too many common expletives?

Answer 7

We were taught reference to "bloody" in English and French referred to the blood of Christ. If that is true, than it should still be offensive to Christians, and politically correct people. But F was NEVER used in public back then; and is now, unfortunately in common use, as much by females as males. It's part of the dumbing down of our cultures.

Answer 8

It all depends on the context it was used, I suppose.
Our language is changing all the time. A word which wasn't offensive, but is now, is bastard. It meant a child born out of wedlock and was and still is a legal term but is now an everyday derogatory.

Answer 9

I think you're right, it's far less offensive now, and I use it regularly. I'm in Australia now, and it's currently being used here in an anti Drink Drive campaign (Only a little over the limit ? You Bloody Idiot)

However, I still would not use it in front of very old people or very young children, dunno why really.

Answer 10

That depends on your hearers.
If you know that someone finds certain words offensive, don't use them.
To give a silly example, if you knew someone whose close friend had been killed by eating poisoned marmalade, youi should not sauy 'marmalade' in their presence,
Why should aanyone wis to cause offence?
Incidentally, the word 'bloody' in this sense is a corruiptyion of 'By our Lady' (referring to Mary)
If you use it in the term 'bloody mess' (ignoring its origin) then it is likely to be inaccurate.
What word do you then use when something IS bloody?