Creative Cursing

Tormod

Tormod

Active member
Does anyone have any good examples of creative cursing that substitutes the actual curse words? I.E Motherflippin´ or fudge you


I need it for one of my characters!
 
I've never seen it, but was told that a character in Joe Piscopo's (remember him?) "Johnny Dangerously" used lots of mangled curse words like "farging icehole" and the like. You could probably make them up pretty easily too...
 
Ted Spencer said:
I've never seen it, but was told that a character in Joe Piscopo's (remember him?) "Johnny Dangerously" used lots of mangled curse words like "farging icehole" and the like. You could probably make them up pretty easily too...
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Oops. I stuck up the wrong Piscopo movie. You're right, Ted. Johnny Dangerously is the one with all the alternative cursing!
 
I just used "Bull jerkey" in a script for a girl who's religious.
Also. I just watched Devil and Daniel Webster and they say "consarn it" and "consarn ye" for damnit and damn you. Consarn is a real old timey expression that is a softer form of damn like dang. In the Devil and Daniel Webster it was used to show just how pious and religous the main family was. The son was always saying "consarn it" and the mother was always scolding him thinking even that was blasphemous.
 
I always thought "consarn" was yet another intentional mangling of "god damn", somewhat more so than "gosh darn". It was used in some petty funny, very dated ways, particularly in cowboy movies...
 
Ted Spencer said:
I always thought "consarn" was yet another intentional mangling of "god damn", somewhat more so than "gosh darn"....
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yeah usage is the same
consarn it
consarn ye
damn it
damn you
god damn it
god damn you

But I can see how it could come from goshdarn.

At first I thought they were saying "constern it" short for "consternation"
 
On another hand, if you cannot say the proper word, don't fake. There is too much fake out there already. It is like "my Gosh" instead of "my God". Either say it, or say something else.
 
Cranky said:
On another hand, if you cannot say the proper word, don't fake. There is too much fake out there already. It is like "my Gosh" instead of "my God". Either say it, or say something else.
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If it's consistent with your character's make up, there's nothing wrong with faking it. It's when you fake it across the board that it becomes a problem.
 
as Cranky says, you do need to think about why you're doing the substitutions, otherwise it can sound silly. I think it can work very well for comedy effect:
- from a straightlaced person who refuses to use actual swearwords and so desperately makes up substitutes. (But other people swear normally)
- or when all characters are clearly turning the air blue with vile swearing but straightfacedly use the substitutions, i.e. the film maker is joking with the audience

Anyway, back to your question: duck (or truck or most other '-uck' words), blummy, pim hole, shoot, darn.
 
I was helping a friend with a mafia type movie, and they got hung up on Motherf%$#ers, so I suggested Cocks%$#ers and everyone was happy. I don't know how much better that word is but it seemed to please everyone. I also listen to a local talk radio show in Orlando and I hear them say F-ing alot, and I think it sounds ok. Hope this helps.
 
Good example: Serenity/Firefly, where they have some reasonable-sounding words for the mild stuff, and they flip over to Chinese for when they really want to curse.

Bad example: the original BattleStar Galactica, which gave us the immortal "frak".
 
Some good ones (in my opinion)

Dag blamit
Bull dink
Shirt
dernit
drabit
Holy jumpin'
flippin'
drat
diggity
cripes
rats
bugger

Not actually swearing is hilarious, especially when you say it with real authority.
 
Trust me, I got a great reason why the character doesn´t swear. Everyone else does throughout though


edit:

Thanks btw! Keep em coming!
 
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