You know you've been watching too many English dramas...

when you start thinking in English swear words.  Yesterday we were at Menards and I turned to Jason and said, "These bloody politicians are driving me crazy."  The man had a look of shock and then started laughing.  "You do know that is a swear word right?"  And I started laughing because while I realize that is true in England, in our country I just think it is funny.  Which made me start contemplating on what makes a swear word.  The word itself?  The context?  The intention?  The understanding of the meaning?  If it is a swear word in one country but the meaning is totally different in another does that really count as a swear word?  When I was a child my step sister's mom wouldn't let her use any substitutions for swear words, Frick, Freaking, Jeez  Gosh, Oh my Goodness...anything that was taking the place of what may have been considered a swear phrase was forbidden.  Then I had my college roommate whose family made up their own family versions.  Like when she dropped something on the floor she'd yell out "Judas!"  Our mom ran in the center.  Swear words were forbidden but she rarely said anything about swear word substitutions.  I find myself asking myself, would she mind that the term Bullocks runs through my mind at least twenty times a day?  It might be time to cut down on some of my BBC channel consumption :)