I was surfin' around this morning looking for the origins of "for Petes sake"
What I discovered were MINCED OATHS.
Quite interesting , for me anyway.
Mince= Ground Beef in the UK.
Why a 'minced oath'? Where did such a phrase originate? Why not a 'mild Swearword', a 'Substituted Oath', even a 'Religious Oath' for goodness sake.
A 'minced oath'; never use it, never heard anyone else use it and would advise all vegetarians to avoid it like the plague.
Let's face it, it just not PC to introduce mince into swear words, however mild they may be.
Perhaps BILBO our resident linguist can shed some light on the "Mince" ?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I think this is right but I'm not sure. I hope it's close.
Mince v. tr.
3. To moderate or restrain (words) for the sake of politeness and decorum; euphemize: Don't mince words: say what you mean.
I had always been under the impression that "mince" had something to do with gender differentiation. After all, are not restroom doors labeled "mince" and "ladice"?
Ouch...
Interesting indeed!
And I always thought it had something to do with Pete from "Pete's Dragon"! You know, 'Puff the magic dragon...lived by the sea....blah blah blah....'
Mike - Your so close I'm giddy:-)
Bilbo - Hurt me too buddy...
Blog Stalker - Well now you know!
Where are you lady?? We miss our Fiona!
Where's fiona? Where's fiona? Is that her in the stripey shirt and hat? No, that was just waldo.
Still alive???
Post a Comment