Minced Oaths
Minced Oaths
The English, being a restrained lot, have a long list of euphemistic phrases, many of which became part of the language before it spread to other parts of the world. The root cause of these is a wish to communicate without being explicit. This is something the English are particularly fond of, hence their long tradition of double-entendre comedy.
Minced oaths are a sub-group of euphemisms used to avoid swearing when expressing surprise or annoyance. If you hit your thumb with a hammer when great aunt Edith is in the room what do you say? It's probably going to be a minced oath.
Examples:
Blimey --> Blind me
Heck --> Hell
To read the full article, please click on the following link
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/minced-oath.html
Kind regards to all
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