Friday 27 March 2009

16th century expletives

Got me thinking now. What would they be?

I reckon 'Avast ye landlubbers' would have to be up there with them.

Please feel free to contribute your own suggestions.

21st century expletives will of course be deleted.

4 comments:

Mark said...

Ol’ Martin Luther had a penchant for the odd scatological retort, reserving some of his best cuss-words for his chief enemies (the reformers’ axis of evil): the world, the Pope and the Devil. No other words would aptly capture his distain towards papal abuse, worldly corruption and the foul work of the devil. Unholy words for unholy enemies it seems.

Rochelle said...

I always like the Shakepearean insults:
"You starvelling, you eel-skin, you dried neat's-tongue, you bull's-pizzle, you stock-fish--O for breath to utter what is like thee!-you tailor's-yard, you sheath, you bow-case, you vile standing tuck!"
Henry IV Part 1

Anonymous said...

Cankerblossom!

The Pook said...

I think "Avast ye landlubbers" is more likely to be an invention of 19th Century English novelists or 20th Century Fox.

16th Century expletives were probably mostly religious. Like "Damn" or "Hellfire" perhaps. Or taking God's name in vain.

The ones listed in the above comments, whilst interesting, are not so much expletives as insults or pejoratives.