tkdguy Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 I've been wondering about how cussing was handled in various science fiction shows. They usually just substitute nonsense words instead of the usual profanity. Some of the ones I've heard were: Smeg (Red Dwarf): The s-word; including things like "smeg head." Frell (Farscape): Seems to be a catch-all phrase, since I've heard it susbstituted for both the f-word and the s-word. Frack (Battlestar Galactica): The f-word, definitely. Any others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Farscape did manage a certain sincerity with its swearing, at least, despite the obvious "made-upness" of the terms. Maybe because they swore so frelling much in that show. Fans of Red Dwarf have long been amused by a certain brand of refrigerator, by the way: http://www.smeg.it/international/collections.asp?CollName=CC I'll have to have a think about other sci-fi swearing. Nothing else is coming to mind right now. EDIT: Didn't Mork have a particular swear word he used? "Shazbat" (sp?) or similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Farscape also had "yotz", which seemed to be equivalent to the s-word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? "Oh, Grot!" from Quark (You must be at least 30 to remember this) "Felgercarb" from the original Battlestar Galactica "Shazbot" was indeed from Mork and Mindy "Droog", "Ultra-V" from Clockwork Orange (Not really swear words, I guess) "Tanj!" From Known Space "Swut, "Foonting Turlingdrome", "jujuflop", from Hitchhikers Guide. And the very worst of the lot: "Belgium" Keith "Washing my mouth out with space soap" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrFaust Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Also Larry Niven's "tanj it." EDIT: Aw, scooped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GothKidSamurai Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Firefly had pseudo-profanity all over the place. Goram - GD Rut - used in place of the eff word And more that I can't remember off hand. Curse loaning my DVDs out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? And, of course, the long strings of profanity in Mandarin Chinese in Firefly. Though apparently, most were not, specifically, profanity or words that would've been bleeped. Most were long strings of unpleasantries. In one of the Firefly panels at Dragons*con, every time people asked Ron Glass a question he couldn't answer for whatever reason, his reply was, "I don't know the Chinese for it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? At first I thought Goram was Chinese. A Google search shows it is probably coined for the show. The derivation should be self-evident. Rut however is an actual euphemism for intercourse. Keith "Rut! Rut! Rut! ha! uncensored!" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GothKidSamurai Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Yeah, I know that rut is an actual term for intercourse. But you don't normally here people say "rutting engine" or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gawain Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? I think that Red Dwarf's "smeg" is a shortened form of the word "smegma" which would make a fine swear-word as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCUBA Hero Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? ""Tanj!" From Known Space T here A in't N o J ustice! And from Heinlein, T here A in't N o S uch T hing A s A F ree L unch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Wikipedia is your friend.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_curse_words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Major Tom Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Let's see... Judge Dredd (the movie) had "Holy drok!" as a curse phrase. Major Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oruncrest Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? T here A in't N o J ustice! And from Heinlein, T here A in't N o S uch T hing A s A F ree L unch Well, if we're gonna use acrostics, we might as well add Bend Over! Here It Comes Again! (or BOHICA, for short) From Negation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Lilo and Stitch count? Gantu keeps saying something like "Blitznak!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? FireFly Chinese Quotes and Translations http://www.browncoats.com/index.php?parent=3e5aa2f800c31&line=3e546fb171d22 That's Shiny completely da bien hua. QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenixcrest Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? From Transformers: Slag, being the general expletive taking the place of the S-word. "Aw, SLAG"/"What a slag-head." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrFaust Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Another good "Farscape" one is "frennik," as in "That frennik Rygel got us in it again." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Here is a pretty definitive-looking list: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=497833 Keith "not re-inventing the wheel" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? "Felgercarb" should be "feldacarb" and is in use for "that, ya know, guck. The stuff whose name I forgot" in parts of the mid-west USA. I had a friend who came from south Indiana, used the word all the time. BTW, that means it's not a swear word, any more than "thingamabob" or "wossname" is. "Flup" from Niven's Ringworld stories. I, too, always though "smeg" was short for "smegma." I'm trying to remember where I saw "ham it to dell". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Sources vary on the spelling of the classic Galactica word. Although it was never precisely defined, it's usage seems to indicate at least a pejorative, as in, "What is this feldercarb!?" Here's a page that lists several spelling varients: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_curse_words I'd post the actual entry, but it contains a real swear word. BTW, how long ago did your friend use the word? Galactica is over 27 years old. Keith "Now I feel old..." Curtis PS. Smeg is absolutely short for smegma, as verified in numerous interviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted September 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Oh drek, I forgot all about Belgium! Age of Empires does have "Ahh, smite me!" And HM Murdock of the A-Team often called BA Barracus an "ugly mudsucker." Of course, RA Salvatore wrote my favorite curse in The Crystal Shard. When translated, it means, "May the fleas of a thousand reindeer nest in your genitals." Thanks for the links and suggestions, all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? "Oh, Grot!" from Quark (You must be at least 30 to remember this) "Felgercarb" from the original Battlestar Galactica "Shazbot" was indeed from Mork and Mindy "Droog", "Ultra-V" from Clockwork Orange (Not really swear words, I guess) "Tanj!" From Known Space "Swut, "Foonting Turlingdrome", "jujuflop", from Hitchhikers Guide. And the very worst of the lot: "Belgium" Keith "Washing my mouth out with space soap" Curtis My favorite is still "srizonified" (been 15 years, spelling uncertain) from Doc Smith's "masters of the vortex" more or less "descended from a thousand generations of dwellers in unflowering muck." I suspect muck was a polite translation. Sthondat from Man Kzin iirc, "willing Slave" was good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Hammer's Slammers had "cop", which was used in the same way as the S-word. Which leads me to believe that "cop" comes from the same source as "coprophage" and "coprolite". They had a couple of others, too, but I don't have my books handy to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Re: Sci-fi swear words? Here's a page that lists several spelling varients: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_curse_words *sigh* I did post that link already here, so you must have me ignored. Was it something I said? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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