A new book explores the striking differences in swearing between Brits and Americans, revealing that despite sharing a language, their use of profanity is anything but similar. The influence of American films and television on British culture is strong, but real-life American swearing retains more shock value than movies suggest.
In America, there is a puritanical streak that manifests in unexpected ways, such as an unwillingness to use seemingly innocuous words like 'toilet' and a certain gentility when swearing. Public figures caught swearing often cause a stir, as seen when President Obama declared he would 'find out whose ass to kick' over the BP oil spill, prompting Time magazine to publish a 'Brief History of Political Profanity'.
Americans often use milder expletives like 'gosh darn it' or 'what the dickens', a phenomenon writer Julie Gray describes as the 'Ned Flanders School of Swearing'. English expat Celia Walden noted that Americans 'don't use expletives as much as we do', finding it refreshing after moving to Los Angeles.
In contrast, the British are far more fluent in swearing and link colourful language with humour rather than vulgarity. They have a larger repertoire of curse words and even create new ones, as demonstrated by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's comedy sketch where they invented their own profanities to bypass BBC restrictions.
The classic British curse 'bloody hell' is particularly shocking to Americans, while British ears are less offended by American favourites like 'douche'. The transatlantic banter can be risky, but the classic curse always translates.
