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It's been months since I wrote something for Strong Language (the sweary blog about swearing). Finally researching a new post, on the phrase "swear like a trooper" – or a sailor, trucker, etc. There are so many variants, and more in other languages. But it's a fun one to dig into.
#swearing #idioms #language #linguistics #research #amwriting
If you speak a #language other than English, and it has an expression equivalent to "swear like a ____", referring to a specific occupation like sailor, cart driver, etc., let me know! I've gathered a few examples, but the more data I get, the better. #linguistics #languages #swearing #profanity #research
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@stancarey (Austrian) German, weirdly gendered: fluchen wie ein Waschweib (like a washerwoman).
@weird_prophet That's a curious one. There are female varieties of the phrase in English, but not many, and none in that realm
@stancarey In Polish "kląć jak szewc" – to swear like a shoemaker, or cobbler.
@szescstopni @stancarey in Russian it's also a cobbler ("сапожник")
@stancarey In Polish we have "Klnie jak szewc" (swear like a shoemaker).
@stancarey Dutch has: vloeken als een bootwerker/ketellapper/dragonder. Vloeken is to curse. Bootwerker is somebody who repairs or makes boats, a ketellapper is (used to be) somebody who repairs copper pots and pans and a dragonder is a soldier on a horse. In Dutch you can also eat like a bootwerker.
@thelonious @stancarey Ah. I was hoping for Dutch answer. Lived here 15 years and hadn't heard that phrase. Nice.
@stancarey In Swedish it’s either “sjöman” which is sailor, or “borstbindare”, which is broom maker.
@stancarey In Mexican Spanish we say "tener boca de verdulera" literally: "to have the mouth of a female greengrocer".
@basultomex @stancarey “hablar como carretonero” too! So to swear a lot is to speak like a cart driver.
@ximenaka @basultomex @stancarey Why have I not learned this phrase on Duolingo? 
@basultomex @stancarey En españa también (por lo menos mi madre).
𐑒𐑵𐑐𐑛𐑪𐑑 @stancarey Swedish "svär som en borstbindare" is the expression I've heard. This occupation made brooms by hand before the machines took over production
@coopdot @stancarey interesting. In Swiss German a heavy smoker would "smoke like a Bürstenbinder", but dot swear.
@stancarey in french "jurer comme un charretier", i.e. swear like a wagoner, for some reason.
German:
used with fluchen
Bierkutscher (dated) = brewery drayman
Landsknecht = mercenary
usually used with schimpfen but fluchen is sometimes used too
Rohrspatz = reed bunting
Kesselflicker = tinker
@stancarey “jurer comme un charretier” in French , like a teamster to his horses
@stancarey Does "Schimpft wie ein Rohrspatz" - "curses like a common reed bunting" (the bird) count?
@stancarey Dang, I'd love to see that list!
@stancarey I'm not a native speaker, so take this with a grain of salt, but I believe the Danish version is "at bande som en tyrk": "to swear like a Turk"
Hey @sorensorensen Will you check my work on this one? Does one “swear like a Turk” in Danish? @stancarey
@ethanweed @stancarey Yep, it's an expression. And it may be worth noting that "tyrk" is somewhat related to the expression, at least in the sense that "tyrker" is a more common way to refer to people from Turkey.
@ethanweed @stancarey So "tyrk" doesn't actually refer to a specific occupation. But I think those exist too, I can think of "sømand" (sailor) and "havnearbejder" (dock worker?); it may be productive!
@ethanweed @stancarey But I love the fact that ordnet 's example is of someone swearing like a Turk _in Welsh_ (https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?subentry_id=59011370&query=bande+som+en+tyrk). So why not just "at bande som en waliser"? :-)
𝕂𝕚𝕂𝕚 
“Fumer comme un pompier”
Literally, “smoke like a fireman”, but 
equivalent would be “smoke like a chimney” (chain smoker, or heavy smoker).
@stancarey Mrs. S tells me in Czech it's sailor!
@stancarey She also just informed me that sometimes it can be translated to Tiler. So: swears like a tiler. Which is oddly specific!
@stancarey "jurer comme un charretier" (France)
@stancarey the most common Dutch equivalent seems to be 'vloeken als een bootwerker ', i.e. like a dockworker (litt. boat worker).
@stancarey Can't think of an exact equivalent in #Hebrew, closest might be a "peh jorah," i.e. sewer mouth
@LangPolJER @stancarey oh wow, in English a “pejorative” is a negative word or phrase. (I had to go look up if that was a coincidence, and it seems to be!)
@Marriedwdinner yes, etymology of "pejorative" seems to lie elsewhere (French, Latin)
@LangPolJER @stancarey I wonder if “peh Jorah” is related to “pejorative”.
Not exactly an „occupation“ …
German: „Schimpfen wie ein Rohrspatz“ …
scold like a reed sparrow (colloquial: to scold excitedly and loudly; after the bird's peculiar warning and squawking cry)
A great reed warbler?
@stancarey Swedish: "Svär som en borstbindare", which means "swear like a brush-binder".
@enfors @stancarey Same in German. ("Fluchen wie ein Bürstenbinder").
@stancarey in Portuguese (Brazil) I think it'd be "boca suja" dirty mouth. The closest to it that I can think of... Que boca suja! / Such a potty mouth!
@gabri Xinga como um(a) ______ ? Can't remember anything in Portuguese, can you?
@GurgelSegrillo @stancarey Puts. Você pediu para a pessoa errada. lol
Nunca fui boa de vocabulário popular.
The idiom "xingar como um marinheiro" is somewhat rare but not unheard of.
And I think that I heard someone say "xingar como um puto" but it risks misunderstandings as "puto" here means an angry man but it can also be read as a male prostitute in Brazil or as a young boy in Portugal.
But I did stumble upon this while Googling: https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-43517662
@gabri @stancarey eu também não lembro de escutar xingar como um marinheiro! Alguém falou xingar como um carioca 
nunca ouvi isso, vc já ouviu? perguntei até a minha mãe.
Artigo bem interessante, obrigada! "Insultar é importante, porque é uma sauna para a alma. Traz um alívio" concordo plenamente! Mas também que tem preconceito embutido em xingamemtos - tento não usar "bastard" mais por exemplo. Babaca não sabia a origem mas não tenho costume de xingar essa. Agora que não vou mesmo!
@GurgelSegrillo @stancarey Nunca tinha ouvido essa expressão (xingar como um carioca) mas já ouvi o esteriótipo algumas vezes. Imagino que essa expression seja regional.
@stancarey In Slovenian it's "preklinja kot kočijaž/fijakar/furman" (swears like a coachman). Though I've seen "preklinja kot mornar" (like a sailor) as well.
@stancarey in Japanese, I first reminded 先生口調（Sen-sei Ku-chou), it means talks like a teacher with looking down or commanding.
@stancarey Not an L1 speaker, but I believe the #Irish equivalent is "mallachtú ar nós an diabhail", "to swear like the devil".
@cjwatson Thank you. I don't know how current it is, but it's included in de Bhaldraithe, so it's legit https://www.teanglann.ie/en/eid/swear
@stancarey Probably only in Mexican Spanish, but "hablar como carretonero" means "talk like a garbage man", and it has the meaning you describe.
@stancarey @researchfairy not a profession per se, but in German we have "schimpfen wie ein Rohrspatz", which means "to swear like a reed bunting/reed sparrow"
@stancarey i’m not familiar with this construction. what does it mean?
⃤ @stancarey In brazilian portuguese, I've heard: "fala como um estivador" (talks like a dockworker).
@stancarey cobbler (сапожник)