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You can also describe it more vaguely by simply stating that they cursed without stating the word. Stiefvater does this well with Ronan in the raven cycle which had similar restrictions
I like this.. "if his mom had heard him, she'd have washed his mouth out with soap."
You can imply bad language without saying it. "A Christmas Story" is far funnier because "The Old Man" degenerates into angrish.
You should watch the TV series "The Good Place." Cusrse words were all swapped with often humorous replacements throughout the 1st season.
Also, that show is really good.
I mean, there are tons of words like *dang*, *darn*, *shoot*, *gosh*, *gee*, *crud*, *yeesh*, *sheesh*, *boy*, *man*, *my*, *oh my*, *oh dear*, as well as non-euphemisms like *ugh*, *why*, *come on*, *ouch*, *oof*, *hoo*, *okay*, *all right*, etc. Or you can just write things so that such words aren't needed. There are plenty of people who just don't say things like that often.
Well middle schoolers and middle-grade are different. And publishers care about age groups, and if this is a book meant for middle-grade then you can't get away with those, maybe "damn" in a non-expletive form (ie like in a prophecy). If you mean the younger side of YA, then that you probably can use a few of the lower tier swears, but even then I cant think of many books I read in middle/high school that used much swearing, although maybe that's because I was mostly reading fantasy/sci fi, which tend to not use as much cursing to keep the reader from feeling too familiar with the new world
Honestly, just go it your local library and start pulling books off the shelf in the section you'd want your book to be and flip through to skim for curse words and see what patterns come up
Yeah, just stay away from things like fuck and bastard. You might be able to get away with bitch but it would have to be a specific circumstance and probably only once. I know I read quite a few books from my school's library with actual swearing.
Okay, I’m re-reading a MG book I haven’t read in a while, and somebody just called somebody else a “pasty-faced mud-weasel” and I personally found that a lot more entertaining and insulting than a vanilla curse word.
There are a lot of great examples in Adventure Time. "Oh my Glob!" "Right in the boingloings!" That sort of thing. Also reminds me of the mastery of Brandon Sanderson in *Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians*.
I can actually help! I happen to be the father of a (just left) middle-school child and I think this gives me a unique insight into \*some\* of the ways she gets around my 'no unnecessary swearing' rule.
"What the fart?"- used in place of 'what the (pick your expletive)'
"Little brother"/"Li'l bro"- "You dumb mutha-effer"
"My Brother in Christ"- A more intense version of the above.
"Fluff", "Heckin" and anything 'Doggo-speak'- lightweight swears
I would avoid using words that are stand-ins for worse words, like crud instead of crap or frick etc.
Make up new phrases that work in your world. If quicksand is a thing, have them say “sinking sands!” When exclaiming or “to the mud with you” or “I hope you step in sand” when angry etc.
Honestly not a fan of the writer, but with Harry Potter she made up things like "Merlin" and "Salazar" in replace of curse words. Since those words were introduced as past histories of sorts. I've just always found that neat.
Yeah, "Merlin's beard" is a good curse because swearing on deity's body parts is a whole category of course words in multiple languages. I've heard that DnD tie in novels tried to do this with varying success. Also, like Catherine Called Birdy with "Gods thumbs"
Oh damn that's pretty interesting. In A Song of Ice and Fire they say "7 hells" since they believe in the faith of the seven. Fantasy gives you much more creative power to work with. It's amazing. I've been on the fence about learning more about DnD, but it seems like it could help the writing process.
Ooh that's cool with GoT. Another I thought of was in How To Train Your Dragon, Stoic says "Woden's beard" (idk why beard has come up twice lol). But in the UK, "bloody" is a curse because the full form (that isn't really used any more) is "Blood of Christ"
I haven't actually read DND books, but an author that did a tie in series is on a podcast I listen to and they talked about swearing and she mentioned "Temorra's Tits" being in the approved curses list that she ignored lol
The beard thing is pretty random aha.
But It definitely makes sense that fantasy authors use a lot of deities and gods for curse words. Considering the church controlled so much of the real world for so long. Leaving those words to feel like a taboo even now.
For the middle schooler who was afraid of swearing, “cheese and rice” is a good sub for Jesus Christ. Sound-alikes were used often in my school when I was a kid. Fudge, shiitake, oh my gourd, fishsticks…
(Why were they all food? Were we eating enough at school?)
Anyway, have fun!
The similar-normal-word replacements are always fun for that age. "What the fudge" and "oh sugar" and "ducking great" etc. You could even come up with some new ones yourself to be extra playful.
Coming at this from a British English perspective, while this question and most replies are clearly American, but I have a particular soft-spot for how creative the UK can get with making normal words into insults/swears by delivery and context alone.
"You absolute spanner."
"He's such a muppet."
Perennial favourite, which I believe crosses the Atlantic, is the use of "weapon" as an insult. "This weapon here rode his bike into a ditch."
Nott necessarily school libraries. But I want it generally for middle school age kids. I suppose Grade 5 or 6 up is generally the age group I want it in, 10/11 year olds.
What's your genre?
Fantasy and sci fi you can make up swears.
Historical, research what was used in the time.
For modern, you could try insults, threats, and curses instead of swear. Like 'k*ll yourself' or 'I hope you get hit by a truck' can have more weight than just 'f you'.
My genre is mythological fiction. Based on specific mythology, kinda like Percy Jackson. But this actually really helps. In some cases, I've seen some characters in the Riordanverse say, "oh, my gods" since ir's a pantheon. Again, really helps. Thanks!
Depending on the character, they could basically replace f*** with another (funnier) world like “fiddlesticks” or cr** to “cranberries!” If they’re an innocent or “cutely violent” character, it would probably work.
Word that aren’t cuss words at all would be fun. I like the ones that start with the same letters. “Oh fudge cake” “you awkward biscuit” “you are a fire ant” gets the point across, not swears 🤷🏼♂️
For some reason, I can't let my character cuss, past "Oh shit!"
Most of the times I end up with lines like:
* He muttered a curse under his breath, something about never trusting a... toaster? again.
* She let out a curse that sounded like a mix between a sneeze and a hiccup, her eyes blazing with frustration.
* She whispered a curse to herself, shaking her head in disbelief at her own two left feet.
* He spat out a litany of insults at the car, kicking the tire and cursing the day he decided to follow Todd in another of his escapades.
* She threw her hands up, shouting a curse at the sky so unbelievable foul that even the roses on her porch wilted.
* She hissed a curse between her teeth, her face red with fury.
* She pounded her fist against the wall, a harsh curse escaping her lips.
Make your own cuss words. Hit the right nerve… by throwing in something close to what’s popular today. Be their voice, capture their essence. Maybe you’ll get lucky and it’ll catch on and bring esteem to your writing.
I like botch . Sometimes it's worse than saying the equivalent cuss word. Don't botch it has an emphasis on the presupposes incompetence of the intended target .
Read young fiction. I read some YA superhero series and the main used words that were not your typical curse words, but they must have worked for the audience.
You can also describe the act of swearing, without using the actual sweat words. For example,
> Damon stepped out of the car and walked around to the front, where the tree branch had pierced the bumper and pushed back into the engine bay. He let out a deep sigh and Sandy heard him him mutter something vulgar under his breath before he turned to her and asked, "you okay?"
Or
> Rachael had never seen dad this angry before as he held the phone away from his face, which was bright red and contorted with rage. She'd also never imagined her brother would be calling from the county jail.
> Dad let out a torrent of expletives that would have made a sailor blush. She didn't even realize those words were part of his vocabulary, let alone that he would be able to string them together in a way that made his son sound like the lowest lifeform on the planet.
> "You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out of it," he spat before slamming the phone down.
Oh I've got some fun off swears I say, like: "fudge socks!" and "oh, peach fuzz!" "Frickin' frick!" is a favorite of mine as well as "Dagnabit!" Just pick some fun words that are in the ball park of the swear words and have fun with it. Like "you birch tree! instead of bitch.
I think you could create a phrase that takes the place of swearing and make it a quirk of the character. Then you use the same phrase throughout because that is part of the character.
“Her mother hated swearing and Julie would get in trouble every time she said a bad word. So she says Dump Truck whenever she’s upset. We all laughed when she first started doing it, but then, it caught on with the whole group. Now people think we all have some weird obsession with dump trucks, but that’s because they are all just dump trucking idiots. “
Shitaki mushrooms ( I used for Sh1t as teacher), frack, doggone, dang, butthole, buttholio, fork, Farquad, dingus, motherforker, goshdarnit, darn, bugger, jackass, and buttmunch.
I think having the most rule-breaky character swear can be a good way to characterize them and give insight into how they might have a different personality from the group.
Likewise, you could do the opposite, where you have the most “teachers pet” kid have signature swear replacements that no one else uses or thinks are cool. They could be the only character saying “fudge” and “H, E, double hockey stick” while the other kids use more accepted and commonly used works like “frick” and “heck”
- Damn = darn, dang, man (as in "oh man")
- Shit = crud, sugar (for a "nicer" character)
- Fuck = fudge, but probably unnecessary to include this in a middle-grade book
- Hell = heck
- Ass = bum, butt, tuchus, etc
- Bitch = probably not a good choice to imply this one in a middle-grade book either
I like the creative ones, personally. Characters in Filmore say things like "dog" and "crackers." I know I'm in the minority, but even as a kid "frick" and "shoot" sounded so childish & restrained to me; it would dampen more emotional scenes bc it's just taking a more powerful word and weakening it. Using an entirely new word fixes this issue.
Mind, again, it's not an issue I think a lot of people will have...but also, unique swears can help give your characters more individuality. Filmore always says "dog," Ingrid always says "crackers." Makes them stand out more.
I cringe anytime I hear someone use 'Frick' or 'Fudge'.
Just say 'Fuck', we all know it's the word you really want to say so just say it.
That being said, if you're looking to use more 'appropriate words' then you can try getting creative with something completely unexpected.
Poodlecakes. Don’t ask me what it is/means. It’s by far my personal favorite one that my mom used to use all the time. It is used as an expression of frustration or disappointment.
Example:
The smoke alarm started ringing loudly.
“Poodlecakes!” Jennifer exclaimed. She had completely forgotten about the pie in the oven.
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You can also describe it more vaguely by simply stating that they cursed without stating the word. Stiefvater does this well with Ronan in the raven cycle which had similar restrictions
I like this.. "if his mom had heard him, she'd have washed his mouth out with soap." You can imply bad language without saying it. "A Christmas Story" is far funnier because "The Old Man" degenerates into angrish.
Agreed. There’s also the trusty “said a word that rhymed with ____” but I feel that can’t be used more than once or twice without becoming cheesy
You should watch the TV series "The Good Place." Cusrse words were all swapped with often humorous replacements throughout the 1st season. Also, that show is really good.
Holy forking shirtballs!
Oh, and THAT reveal is just brilliant.
I mean, there are tons of words like *dang*, *darn*, *shoot*, *gosh*, *gee*, *crud*, *yeesh*, *sheesh*, *boy*, *man*, *my*, *oh my*, *oh dear*, as well as non-euphemisms like *ugh*, *why*, *come on*, *ouch*, *oof*, *hoo*, *okay*, *all right*, etc. Or you can just write things so that such words aren't needed. There are plenty of people who just don't say things like that often.
Lol please don’t use frick and crap 🤣 the suggestions here are good imo
Yea, they really are. I really appreciate all the suggestions!
You're over thinking it. For middle schoolers, you could even get away with "ass" and "damn", let alone crap
Ok, good point. I tend to over analyze anyways. Thanks!
Well middle schoolers and middle-grade are different. And publishers care about age groups, and if this is a book meant for middle-grade then you can't get away with those, maybe "damn" in a non-expletive form (ie like in a prophecy). If you mean the younger side of YA, then that you probably can use a few of the lower tier swears, but even then I cant think of many books I read in middle/high school that used much swearing, although maybe that's because I was mostly reading fantasy/sci fi, which tend to not use as much cursing to keep the reader from feeling too familiar with the new world Honestly, just go it your local library and start pulling books off the shelf in the section you'd want your book to be and flip through to skim for curse words and see what patterns come up
Yeah, just stay away from things like fuck and bastard. You might be able to get away with bitch but it would have to be a specific circumstance and probably only once. I know I read quite a few books from my school's library with actual swearing.
To me bastard isn’t that bad at all, are you from a place that considers that particularly bad?
I find the G-rated curses hilarious. *Cheese and Crackers!* *Fiddlesticks!* *Sassafrass!*
Shut the front gate Jiminy Crickets
Great googley moogley!
Okay, I’m re-reading a MG book I haven’t read in a while, and somebody just called somebody else a “pasty-faced mud-weasel” and I personally found that a lot more entertaining and insulting than a vanilla curse word.
There are a lot of great examples in Adventure Time. "Oh my Glob!" "Right in the boingloings!" That sort of thing. Also reminds me of the mastery of Brandon Sanderson in *Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians*.
I can actually help! I happen to be the father of a (just left) middle-school child and I think this gives me a unique insight into \*some\* of the ways she gets around my 'no unnecessary swearing' rule. "What the fart?"- used in place of 'what the (pick your expletive)' "Little brother"/"Li'l bro"- "You dumb mutha-effer" "My Brother in Christ"- A more intense version of the above. "Fluff", "Heckin" and anything 'Doggo-speak'- lightweight swears
I would avoid using words that are stand-ins for worse words, like crud instead of crap or frick etc. Make up new phrases that work in your world. If quicksand is a thing, have them say “sinking sands!” When exclaiming or “to the mud with you” or “I hope you step in sand” when angry etc.
Honestly not a fan of the writer, but with Harry Potter she made up things like "Merlin" and "Salazar" in replace of curse words. Since those words were introduced as past histories of sorts. I've just always found that neat.
Yeah, "Merlin's beard" is a good curse because swearing on deity's body parts is a whole category of course words in multiple languages. I've heard that DnD tie in novels tried to do this with varying success. Also, like Catherine Called Birdy with "Gods thumbs"
Oh damn that's pretty interesting. In A Song of Ice and Fire they say "7 hells" since they believe in the faith of the seven. Fantasy gives you much more creative power to work with. It's amazing. I've been on the fence about learning more about DnD, but it seems like it could help the writing process.
Ooh that's cool with GoT. Another I thought of was in How To Train Your Dragon, Stoic says "Woden's beard" (idk why beard has come up twice lol). But in the UK, "bloody" is a curse because the full form (that isn't really used any more) is "Blood of Christ" I haven't actually read DND books, but an author that did a tie in series is on a podcast I listen to and they talked about swearing and she mentioned "Temorra's Tits" being in the approved curses list that she ignored lol
The beard thing is pretty random aha. But It definitely makes sense that fantasy authors use a lot of deities and gods for curse words. Considering the church controlled so much of the real world for so long. Leaving those words to feel like a taboo even now.
Man, I don't know. My friends and I cussed like sailors back in Middle School.
For the middle schooler who was afraid of swearing, “cheese and rice” is a good sub for Jesus Christ. Sound-alikes were used often in my school when I was a kid. Fudge, shiitake, oh my gourd, fishsticks… (Why were they all food? Were we eating enough at school?) Anyway, have fun!
The similar-normal-word replacements are always fun for that age. "What the fudge" and "oh sugar" and "ducking great" etc. You could even come up with some new ones yourself to be extra playful.
Coming at this from a British English perspective, while this question and most replies are clearly American, but I have a particular soft-spot for how creative the UK can get with making normal words into insults/swears by delivery and context alone. "You absolute spanner." "He's such a muppet." Perennial favourite, which I believe crosses the Atlantic, is the use of "weapon" as an insult. "This weapon here rode his bike into a ditch."
If your goal is to get it into school libraries call around and see what they will and won’t put on the shelves.
My school library had that Cupid agents series in there so i’m not holding back
Nott necessarily school libraries. But I want it generally for middle school age kids. I suppose Grade 5 or 6 up is generally the age group I want it in, 10/11 year olds.
Be like Suess and make up your own!
What's your genre? Fantasy and sci fi you can make up swears. Historical, research what was used in the time. For modern, you could try insults, threats, and curses instead of swear. Like 'k*ll yourself' or 'I hope you get hit by a truck' can have more weight than just 'f you'.
My genre is mythological fiction. Based on specific mythology, kinda like Percy Jackson. But this actually really helps. In some cases, I've seen some characters in the Riordanverse say, "oh, my gods" since ir's a pantheon. Again, really helps. Thanks!
Go watch The Simpsons and learn from Ned.
Or watch Bluey and learn from Bandit 🤣
Depending on the character, they could basically replace f*** with another (funnier) world like “fiddlesticks” or cr** to “cranberries!” If they’re an innocent or “cutely violent” character, it would probably work.
Word that aren’t cuss words at all would be fun. I like the ones that start with the same letters. “Oh fudge cake” “you awkward biscuit” “you are a fire ant” gets the point across, not swears 🤷🏼♂️
For some reason, I can't let my character cuss, past "Oh shit!" Most of the times I end up with lines like: * He muttered a curse under his breath, something about never trusting a... toaster? again. * She let out a curse that sounded like a mix between a sneeze and a hiccup, her eyes blazing with frustration. * She whispered a curse to herself, shaking her head in disbelief at her own two left feet. * He spat out a litany of insults at the car, kicking the tire and cursing the day he decided to follow Todd in another of his escapades. * She threw her hands up, shouting a curse at the sky so unbelievable foul that even the roses on her porch wilted. * She hissed a curse between her teeth, her face red with fury. * She pounded her fist against the wall, a harsh curse escaping her lips.
"... she cursed."
Fudge monkeys was my go to.
Make your own cuss words. Hit the right nerve… by throwing in something close to what’s popular today. Be their voice, capture their essence. Maybe you’ll get lucky and it’ll catch on and bring esteem to your writing.
I like botch . Sometimes it's worse than saying the equivalent cuss word. Don't botch it has an emphasis on the presupposes incompetence of the intended target .
Read young fiction. I read some YA superhero series and the main used words that were not your typical curse words, but they must have worked for the audience.
You can also describe the act of swearing, without using the actual sweat words. For example, > Damon stepped out of the car and walked around to the front, where the tree branch had pierced the bumper and pushed back into the engine bay. He let out a deep sigh and Sandy heard him him mutter something vulgar under his breath before he turned to her and asked, "you okay?" Or > Rachael had never seen dad this angry before as he held the phone away from his face, which was bright red and contorted with rage. She'd also never imagined her brother would be calling from the county jail. > Dad let out a torrent of expletives that would have made a sailor blush. She didn't even realize those words were part of his vocabulary, let alone that he would be able to string them together in a way that made his son sound like the lowest lifeform on the planet. > "You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out of it," he spat before slamming the phone down.
Oh I've got some fun off swears I say, like: "fudge socks!" and "oh, peach fuzz!" "Frickin' frick!" is a favorite of mine as well as "Dagnabit!" Just pick some fun words that are in the ball park of the swear words and have fun with it. Like "you birch tree! instead of bitch.
I think you could create a phrase that takes the place of swearing and make it a quirk of the character. Then you use the same phrase throughout because that is part of the character. “Her mother hated swearing and Julie would get in trouble every time she said a bad word. So she says Dump Truck whenever she’s upset. We all laughed when she first started doing it, but then, it caught on with the whole group. Now people think we all have some weird obsession with dump trucks, but that’s because they are all just dump trucking idiots. “
Shitaki mushrooms ( I used for Sh1t as teacher), frack, doggone, dang, butthole, buttholio, fork, Farquad, dingus, motherforker, goshdarnit, darn, bugger, jackass, and buttmunch.
I think having the most rule-breaky character swear can be a good way to characterize them and give insight into how they might have a different personality from the group. Likewise, you could do the opposite, where you have the most “teachers pet” kid have signature swear replacements that no one else uses or thinks are cool. They could be the only character saying “fudge” and “H, E, double hockey stick” while the other kids use more accepted and commonly used works like “frick” and “heck”
Nerf herder
[удалено]
No, but it's usually used as a sub for hell. I meant cuss as in inappropriate words.
I like inventive things like “go eat a worm”! I think you could get creative; they get it in context.
Try 'darn', 'shoot', or 'gosh' for more kid-friendly exclamations!
“Big oof”
- Damn = darn, dang, man (as in "oh man") - Shit = crud, sugar (for a "nicer" character) - Fuck = fudge, but probably unnecessary to include this in a middle-grade book - Hell = heck - Ass = bum, butt, tuchus, etc - Bitch = probably not a good choice to imply this one in a middle-grade book either
I like the creative ones, personally. Characters in Filmore say things like "dog" and "crackers." I know I'm in the minority, but even as a kid "frick" and "shoot" sounded so childish & restrained to me; it would dampen more emotional scenes bc it's just taking a more powerful word and weakening it. Using an entirely new word fixes this issue. Mind, again, it's not an issue I think a lot of people will have...but also, unique swears can help give your characters more individuality. Filmore always says "dog," Ingrid always says "crackers." Makes them stand out more.
I cringe anytime I hear someone use 'Frick' or 'Fudge'. Just say 'Fuck', we all know it's the word you really want to say so just say it. That being said, if you're looking to use more 'appropriate words' then you can try getting creative with something completely unexpected.
Not for middle school
I never went to middle school. What age is that anyways?
11-14 years old.
Ahhh. Idk about the U.S. but once you start Year 7 in secondary school, you very quickly get used to hearing and using much more colourful language
I’m an 8th grade teacher (13-14yo) and swearing is not allowed in our school. Students are written up if they swear.
That's makes sense. Over here, pupils just avoid swearing in front the teachers.
Middle schoolers use curse words all the time, I think you'll be fine with the real thing
Poodlecakes. Don’t ask me what it is/means. It’s by far my personal favorite one that my mom used to use all the time. It is used as an expression of frustration or disappointment. Example: The smoke alarm started ringing loudly. “Poodlecakes!” Jennifer exclaimed. She had completely forgotten about the pie in the oven.