Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator, has released its research into the relative offensiveness of British swearwords.
You can read the whole report (not recommended) here: ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/ … nguage.pdf
Or just read the interesting bits courtesy of the Great British press: indy100.com/article/british … om-7340446
Although both links contain some very rude words (obviously). 
Thanks Mr. P. You’ve just (slightly) broadened my vocabulary. 
I think I learned a couple new ones.
I wonder if anyone’s done a study comparing swearing in different English dialects? For instance, “bollocks” isn’t overly a swear here–they said it on Buffy on prime time during a time when you absolutely couldn’t swear on TV. I’ve heard “pendejo” beeped in Texas, when it likely wouldn’t be elsewhere, either.
Interesting about “bollocks” in Buffy, given the era - perhaps the writer put it in to try to convince the audience that the Anthony Head or the James Marsters character was a genuine Brit? I’m doubtful that it would get a prime-time airing on mainstream UK broadcasters today - I haven’t heard it used, but I may have simply missed examples.
Yesterday we got a written “fk" (without asterisks) in a popular comedy panel game on the BBC at 9.15 p.m., something I haven’t seen for a while. But I think all the spoken versions in the programme were, as usual, bleeped. It’s not so long, however, since on mainstream TV some programmes after 9 p.m. - what we call in the UK “the watershed”, when all good children are supposedly in bed - did contain quite a few unbleeped spoken "fks”: for instance, there was an Irish stand-up called Dave Allen who more or less specialised in them. But nowadays not so much, at least on mainstream terrestrial broadcasters before 9.30pm.
When I worked in TV, was a lot younger and was more idealistic - or mischievous - about free expression, I did waste some time in trying to persuade the regulator that a lone factual unbleeped spoken “f**k” in daytime was justified in context. As I say, a waste of time. But I have noticed a hybrid word not properly acknowledged in the list has been creeping on to the air in prime-time in recent years, even in imported American series: “b*gger” pronounced almost as “beggar” - but not quite.
This is going back over thirty years ago: a traffic policeman stopped a car being driven dangerously.
The driver was drunk (or pissed as we say on the picket line, protesting outside the late and much lamented Red Lion pub), and his language was an expletive laden diatribe. The cop warned the driver to curb his foul language, or he, the cop, would charge the driver with using obscene language.
When the case came to court, the driver was found guilty on all counts, except that of using obscene language. The judge informed the court, that, the driver was only using ‘Shop-floor Vernacular’, in his heated exchanges with the Traffic cop. The judge wasn’t referring to geeky-trendy type office jargon of the last decade or so. He was referring to the universal use of bad language in every day factory floor, interaction and communication, or shop floor as it’s referred to.
Take care
Vic
I wonder if MR K was tha source for the list…
I grew up watching Dave Allen at Large, but it was on really late at night. (On PBS, no less.) I think it started around 10:30 p.m., and then Doctor Who came on at 11. I honestly don’t remember if it was censored or not.