Stan CareyDec 7, 2022
It's been months since I wrote something for Strong Language (the sweary blog about swearing). Finally researching a new post, on the phrase "swear like a trooper" – or a sailor, trucker, etc. There are so many variants, and more in other languages. But it's a fun one to dig into.
#swearing #idioms #language #linguistics #research #amwriting
OrenHDec 7, 2022
Show threadStan Carey
If you speak a #language other than English, and it has an expression equivalent to "swear like a ____", referring to a specific occupation like sailor, cart driver, etc., let me know! I've gathered a few examples, but the more data I get, the better. #linguistics #languages #swearing #profanity #research
Dec 7, 2022 at 8:51pmWeb
Show threadPhoenix ️‍️‍🌈️💛🤍💜🖤Dec 7, 2022
@stancarey (Austrian) German, weirdly gendered: fluchen wie ein Waschweib (like a washerwoman).
Show threadStan CareyDec 9, 2022
@weird_prophet That's a curious one. There are female varieties of the phrase in English, but not many, and none in that realm
Show threadszescstopniDec 7, 2022
@stancarey In Polish "kląć jak szewc" – to swear like a shoemaker, or cobbler.
Show threadIlya אש AshDec 13, 2022
@szescstopni @stancarey in Russian it's also a cobbler ("сапожник")
Show threadMarcinDec 7, 2022
@stancarey In Polish we have "Klnie jak szewc" (swear like a shoemaker).
Show threadRuben van de VijverDec 7, 2022
@stancarey Dutch has: vloeken als een bootwerker/ketellapper/dragonder. Vloeken is to curse. Bootwerker is somebody who repairs or makes boats, a ketellapper is (used to be) somebody who repairs copper pots and pans and a dragonder is a soldier on a horse. In Dutch you can also eat like a bootwerker.
Show threadWho by avalanche who by powderDec 8, 2022
@thelonious @stancarey Ah. I was hoping for Dutch answer. Lived here 15 years and hadn't heard that phrase. Nice.
Show threadAnnaDec 7, 2022
@stancarey In Swedish it’s either “sjöman” which is sailor, or “borstbindare”, which is broom maker.
Show threadJavier BasultoDec 7, 2022
@stancarey In Mexican Spanish we say "tener boca de verdulera" literally: "to have the mouth of a female greengrocer".
Show threadXimena GonzálezDec 7, 2022
@basultomex @stancarey “hablar como carretonero” too! So to swear a lot is to speak like a cart driver.
Show threadcarolDec 8, 2022
@ximenaka @basultomex @stancarey Why have I not learned this phrase on Duolingo? 😂
Show threadDJ Dr. MaitxinhaDec 8, 2022
@basultomex @stancarey En españa también (por lo menos mi madre).
Show threadCoopDot 💻 𐑒𐑵𐑐𐑛𐑪𐑑Dec 7, 2022
@stancarey Swedish "svär som en borstbindare" is the expression I've heard. This occupation made brooms by hand before the machines took over production
Show threadLeo BetschartDec 9, 2022
@coopdot @stancarey interesting. In Swiss German a heavy smoker would "smoke like a Bürstenbinder", but dot swear.
Show threadJohan RenaudieDec 7, 2022
@stancarey in french "jurer comme un charretier", i.e. swear like a wagoner, for some reason.
Show threadSistaRayDec 7, 2022

@stancarey

German:
used with fluchen

Bierkutscher (dated) = brewery drayman
Landsknecht = mercenary

usually used with schimpfen but fluchen is sometimes used too

Rohrspatz = reed bunting
Kesselflicker = tinker

Show threadArmelleDec 7, 2022
@stancarey “jurer comme un charretier” in French , like a teamster to his horses
Show threadUli Kusterer (Not a kitteh)Dec 7, 2022
@stancarey Does "Schimpft wie ein Rohrspatz" - "curses like a common reed bunting" (the bird) count?
Show threadFrank SiragusoDec 7, 2022
@stancarey Dang, I'd love to see that list!
Show threadEthan WeedDec 7, 2022
@stancarey I'm not a native speaker, so take this with a grain of salt, but I believe the Danish version is "at bande som en tyrk": "to swear like a Turk"
Show thread[iːθən] [wiːd]Dec 7, 2022
Hey @sorensorensen Will you check my work on this one? Does one “swear like a Turk” in Danish? @stancarey
Show threadSøren Sandager SørensenDec 7, 2022
@ethanweed @stancarey Yep, it's an expression. And it may be worth noting that "tyrk" is somewhat related to the expression, at least in the sense that "tyrker" is a more common way to refer to people from Turkey.
Show threadSøren Sandager SørensenDec 7, 2022
@ethanweed @stancarey So "tyrk" doesn't actually refer to a specific occupation. But I think those exist too, I can think of "sømand" (sailor) and "havnearbejder" (dock worker?); it may be productive!
Show threadColin RosenthalDec 8, 2022
@ethanweed @stancarey But I love the fact that ordnet 's example is of someone swearing like a Turk _in Welsh_ (https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?subentry_id=59011370&query=bande+som+en+tyrk). So why not just "at bande som en waliser"? :-)
bande som en tyrk — Den Danske Ordbog

Søgning på “bande som en tyrk” i Den Danske Ordbog. Find betydning, stavning, synonymer og meget mere i moderne dansk.

Show thread💐 🏖 🌺 𝕂𝕚𝕂𝕚Dec 7, 2022

@stancarey

🇫🇷 “Fumer comme un pompier”

Literally, “smoke like a fireman”, but 🇬🇧 equivalent would be “smoke like a chimney” (chain smoker, or heavy smoker).

Show threadRobert SweetnamDec 7, 2022
@stancarey Mrs. S tells me in Czech it's sailor!
Show threadRobert SweetnamDec 7, 2022
@stancarey She also just informed me that sometimes it can be translated to Tiler. So: swears like a tiler. Which is oddly specific!
Show threadYGrangerDec 7, 2022
@stancarey "jurer comme un charretier" (France)
Show thread@[email protected]Dec 7, 2022

@stancarey Pretty much the same in Brazilian Portuguese, but with the comparison as emphasis

Você xinga mais que um marinheiro!
(You curse more than a sailor!)
Ele fala mais palavrão que um marinheiro!
(He uses more swear words than a sailor!/ literally "he talks more swear words than..."

And regionally "She curses like a carioca!" (mostly because Rio de Janeiro natives use swearing like a comma to the point it gets folkloric)

Trivia: "palavrão" means "big word".

Show threadP Gurgel-SegrilloDec 7, 2022
@lanika @stancarey never heard of curses like a Carioca!! 😳😅
Show thread@[email protected]Dec 8, 2022
@GurgelSegrillo @stancarey As a carioca myself, I have 😬
Show threadP Gurgel-SegrilloDec 8, 2022
@lanika @stancarey pois é... olha esse artigo que a @gabri compartilhou, bem interessante. Nele li: "Insultar é importante, porque é uma sauna para a alma. Traz um alívio" https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-43517662 Então se somos do Rio de Janeiro e xingamos muito, a intenção pode ser de crítica, mas prefiro receber como elogio 🤤 somos menos reprimidas e mais aliviadas 😇😊
Pequeno dicionário para xingar sem perder a erudição - BBC News Brasil

Bate-boca entre ministros do STF foi lição involuntária de como discutir (quase) sem perder a pompa e uma amostra de como a língua portuguesa tem um repertório rico de ofensas que vão muito além dos palavrões.

BBC News Brasil
Show thread@[email protected]Dec 8, 2022
@GurgelSegrillo @stancarey @gabri Por isso que eu tenho essa cútis linda hahahaha
Show threadP Gurgel-SegrilloDec 8, 2022
@lanika @stancarey @gabri LINDA!!! 😊❤️ e bora xingar! 😅
Show threadSashaDec 7, 2022
@stancarey the most common Dutch equivalent seems to be 'vloeken als een bootwerker ', i.e. like a dockworker (litt. boat worker).
Show threadOrenHDec 7, 2022
@stancarey Can't think of an exact equivalent in #Hebrew, closest might be a "peh jorah," i.e. sewer mouth
Show threadAnita / Married with dinnerDec 8, 2022
@LangPolJER @stancarey oh wow, in English a “pejorative” is a negative word or phrase. (I had to go look up if that was a coincidence, and it seems to be!)
Show threadOrenHDec 8, 2022
@Marriedwdinner yes, etymology of "pejorative" seems to lie elsewhere (French, Latin)
Show threadT. J. BombadilDec 9, 2022
@LangPolJER @stancarey I wonder if “peh Jorah” is related to “pejorative”.
Show threadOrenHDec 9, 2022
@c_dan4th afraid not https://mastodon.online/@LangPolJER/109476704488280667
OrenH (@[email protected])

@[email protected] yes, etymology of "pejorative" seems to lie elsewhere (French, Latin)

Mastodon
Show threadMax-auf-der-RaxDec 7, 2022

@stancarey

Not exactly an „occupation“ …
German: „Schimpfen wie ein Rohrspatz“ …
scold like a reed sparrow (colloquial: to scold excitedly and loudly; after the bird's peculiar warning and squawking cry)

A great reed warbler?

Show threadChrister EnforsDec 7, 2022
@stancarey Swedish: "Svär som en borstbindare", which means "swear like a brush-binder".
Show threadmhdDec 7, 2022
@enfors @stancarey Same in German. ("Fluchen wie ein Bürstenbinder").
Show threadNancy FriedmanDec 7, 2022
@stancarey I assume you’ve seen this? https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2022/01/swear-like-a-sailor.html
The Grammarphobia Blog: Swear like a sailor

The X-rated history of the expression “swears (or curses) like a sailor (or trooper, soldier, marine).”

Grammarphobia
Show threadstoicmikeDec 8, 2022
@Fritinancy @stancarey when I was showing off as a little kid my grandmother (from Whitechapel) used to say, "Want me to stick a feather in your ass?"
Show threadStan CareyDec 8, 2022
@Fritinancy I have, thank you. I quote it in the draft
Show threadP Gurgel-SegrilloDec 7, 2022

@stancarey in Portuguese (Brazil) I think it'd be "boca suja" dirty mouth. The closest to it that I can think of... Que boca suja! / Such a potty mouth!

@gabri Xinga como um(a) ______ ? Can't remember anything in Portuguese, can you?

Show threadGabriela Noriega 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇧🇷Dec 7, 2022

@GurgelSegrillo @stancarey Puts. Você pediu para a pessoa errada. lol
Nunca fui boa de vocabulário popular.

The idiom "xingar como um marinheiro" is somewhat rare but not unheard of.

And I think that I heard someone say "xingar como um puto" but it risks misunderstandings as "puto" here means an angry man but it can also be read as a male prostitute in Brazil or as a young boy in Portugal.

But I did stumble upon this while Googling: https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-43517662

Pequeno dicionário para xingar sem perder a erudição - BBC News Brasil

Bate-boca entre ministros do STF foi lição involuntária de como discutir (quase) sem perder a pompa e uma amostra de como a língua portuguesa tem um repertório rico de ofensas que vão muito além dos palavrões.

BBC News Brasil
Show threadP Gurgel-SegrilloDec 8, 2022

@gabri @stancarey eu também não lembro de escutar xingar como um marinheiro! Alguém falou xingar como um carioca 😳😅 nunca ouvi isso, vc já ouviu? perguntei até a minha mãe.

Artigo bem interessante, obrigada! "Insultar é importante, porque é uma sauna para a alma. Traz um alívio" concordo plenamente! Mas também que tem preconceito embutido em xingamemtos - tento não usar "bastard" mais por exemplo. Babaca não sabia a origem mas não tenho costume de xingar essa. Agora que não vou mesmo!

Show threadGabriela Noriega 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇧🇷Dec 8, 2022
@GurgelSegrillo @stancarey Nunca tinha ouvido essa expressão (xingar como um carioca) mas já ouvi o esteriótipo algumas vezes. Imagino que essa expression seja regional.
Show threadPara 🌵Dec 8, 2022
@stancarey In Slovenian it's "preklinja kot kočijaž/fijakar/furman" (swears like a coachman). Though I've seen "preklinja kot mornar" (like a sailor) as well.
Show thread藤井太洋, Taiyo FujiiDec 8, 2022
@stancarey in Japanese, I first reminded 先生口調（Sen-sei Ku-chou), it means talks like a teacher with looking down or commanding.
Show threadColin WatsonDec 8, 2022
@stancarey Not an L1 speaker, but I believe the #Irish equivalent is "mallachtú ar nós an diabhail", "to swear like the devil".
Show threadStan CareyDec 9, 2022
@cjwatson Thank you. I don't know how current it is, but it's included in de Bhaldraithe, so it's legit https://www.teanglann.ie/en/eid/swear
English–Irish Dictionary (de Bhaldraithe): swear

Everything about 'swear' in the de Bhaldraithe Dictionary

Show threadFederico Mena QuinteroDec 8, 2022
@stancarey Probably only in Mexican Spanish, but "hablar como carretonero" means "talk like a garbage man", and it has the meaning you describe.
Show threadxrvsDec 8, 2022
@stancarey i’m not familiar with this construction. what does it mean?
Show threadCapitão Barba 🏳️‍🌈⃤Dec 8, 2022
@stancarey In brazilian portuguese, I've heard: "fala como um estivador" (talks like a dockworker).
Show threadyin yang yoinkDec 8, 2022
@stancarey cobbler (сапожник)
Show threadKatDec 8, 2022
@stancarey There might be s dissertation in this thread.
Show threadPierrecDec 8, 2022
@stancarey "jurer comme un charretier" has already been mentioned for french, but we also have "jurer/parler comme une poissonnière" (talk like a lady fish seller)