Sci-fi swear words?

[Cancer]

Going back a long, long ways ... the human protagonists in the Lensman books swore by Klono frequently.

[Dan Brown]

How 'bout Stang! and Blast! from Star Wars?

[AndyStaples]

I seem to recall that in one of Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time books, a group of alien invaders made liberal use of the word "ferk".

I can't remember what it meant in their language, but it definitely wasn't a swear word - which didn't lessen the severity of their punishment whenever the robot nanny who tamed them heard them using it...

Gotta love Moorcock.

[CSgeekHero]

A Clockwork Orange: Bratchny.

[Duke Bushido]

If you're still keeping track, Firefly's use of 'rut' was not invented; it's more in keeping with the western influence of the show. It's a rural expression, particularly farm-related, and is used most often as a mild version of "the F word."

I grew up getting slapped for using it myself.....

[Fredwidge]

I like inventing mines from my game's culture and then handing them to players for abuse. It helps reinforce the immersion of the game.

Say you're making a game in a world which was ruined by the greedy powers of federated megacorps and their full scale corporated war... The S-word could be replaced by "fedcred"... for federal credits : the currency which lead people to that dreaded apocalyptic war. I'm sure you can come out with better ones, even though it's a bit off topic.

[Tiree]

the BOHICA one is an actual military phrase

not that the "meaning" is any different mind you

man.....i miss crossgen comics.

True, one of my favorites from the military is SNAFU and FUBAR - oddly enough both were businesses in the same shopping center when I was growing up...


Situation Normal All F'd Up
F'd Up Beyond All Recognition

Now go get me some batteries for the Chem Light

[BigJackBrass]

Federation starships in TWERPS Twek fire Phubar Torpedoes, by the way.

[Brother Jim]

True, one of my favorites from the military is SNAFU and FUBAR - oddly enough both were businesses in the same shopping center when I was growing up...


Situation Normal All F'd Up
F'd Up Beyond All Recognition

Now go get me some batteries for the Chem Light

okay, but you gotta get me a bucket of steam

i'll see you after liberty call with those batteries, they might take all day to find

[Phil]

Let's see... Judge Dredd (the movie) had "Holy drok!" as a curse phrase.
Major Tom

Judge Dredd universe actually has quite a detailed list of swearing:
Grud - God (as in Holy Grud! Grud Almighty etc.), Stomm, Spug and Drokk. I'm pretty sure there were others. The Games Workshop JD game had a list of the legal and illegal words, not sure if Mongoose's D20 version does the same.

I'm 99% certain that smeg derives from smegma. And I was tremendously amused by the suggestion the "blast" is a futuristic swear word, because my mother has been using this for as long as I've been alive, and that's definitely before Star Wars!

[Rapier]

Lilo and Stitch count?

Let us sincerely hope not.

[DrFaust]

I'm 99% certain that smeg derives from smegma.

Back when I was reading about "Red Dwarf," the newsgroup FAQ reported that Grant and Nayloy maintain they invented the word on their own. Whether that's the case or not is up for debate.

[keithcurtis]

The mild vulgarism smeg is a shortened version of the word "smegma", a particularly unpleasant bodily secretion. It gained greatly increased prominence through its use as a supposedly inoffensive expletive in the British sci-fi/sit-com Red Dwarf, together with a string of derived words including "smegging", "smeghead", etc.
Some fans' theories notwithstanding, the creators of the Red Dwarf series deny that "smegma" is the etymology of the term and claim that it is an invented word. However, lexicographer Tony Thorne, in his 1990 Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (ISBN 074752856X), reports instances of "smeg" (and derivatives) being used as a term of "mild contempt and even affection" among "schoolboys, students and punks" as early as the mid-1970s – a decade or so prior to the inception of the Red Dwarf phenomenon – and claims unequivocally that the etymology of the term traces back to "smegma". Observers who can personally recall using the term "smeg" during the Punk boom of the 1970s see the Red Dwarf creators' claims as the result of either independent parallel development, selective memory, or dissembling.

I have seen interviews with the cast/creators where they are asked about the word and their reactions seem to indicate that the word dervied from smegma. So go fig.

Keith "smegologist" Curtis

[Basil]

BTW, how long ago did your friend use the word? Galactica is over 27 years old.

Um, about that or maybe more. Perhaps as much as 30 years back. In any event, he explained it as common where he came from.

[keithcurtis]

It was really popular immediately after the series premiered. I'd be curious if anyone else has experience with this word that pre-dates BG.

Keith "SF Etymologist" Curtis