Swear Words in Star Wars

Thank you, Amidala_Skywalker, for clearing some stuff up that I thought needed to be said.

As much fun as SW swear words really are, I think that sometimes fics overuse them to sound cool or natural.

I agree (mostly) that if a chair is a chair and a table is a table that **** should be ****. However, you can't overlook the fact that certain things are just more fun to say in SW-lingo. For instance, Sithspit and Shavit were always two of my personal favorites when it came to SW swear words. I actually use those from time to time in real life. They just are fun to use, especially because when you do use them in real life, people look at you funny.



To add a few SW swear words/phrases that are pretty mild to the list:
I've heard something like "son of a Kowokian Monkey-Lizard" or simply refering to someone as a "Kowokian Monkey-Lizard" used a few times in the OT books. Also, using "Force" just as one would take the name of God in vain tends to happen a lot. As in "Good Force, woman" or whatever.

Just my little bit of input for you guys.

 

I use Nerf-dung quite a lot. But thanks to this thread I've added on:
Bantha Breath
Tauntaun Nuggets

ie1: "Whoa...better take mint Bantha breath!"
ie2: "Man, go hit the fressher it looks like you waded through Tauntaun nuggets."

It's getting deep in here...

Later
Adam

 

I prefer using my own, or anything with "Sith" in it, I used to have a real problem with swearing, but using Star Wars cussing is much more creative! Real life cuss words and products in Fic really take me out of the story, and make me doubt the author.

 

I use 'Spice Mines of Kessel' and variants of that in my fic, in the place of 'hell'. I'm not sure if that's in any books or not, though.

Here's my opinion. The GFFA is MADE UP. Since it's made up, there isn't any reason why they CAN'T use 'Earth swears' or 'Sith', even though we on Earth don't usually go around saying, 'oh, Gnostic!'

It's like in HP, where they say things like 'Merlin's beard!' and Tamora Pierce with 'Mithros, Minos, and Shakith!'

Even in real life different people have their own curse words and phrases. There's some who don't use 'Nazi' and some who do. Some people think that 'sucks' is a terrible curse word. It all depends on the person.

It's fiction. Have fun with it.

sorry for ranting

 

As I recall, Michael Stackpole was quite fond of using "blazes" in place of "hell" in his X-Wing series.

Wedge responded, "Like blazes you will!"

 

Upping so people can find this.


Dana

 

Here we go folks--a list of Star Wars swear words.

Star Wars Swear Words

 

I use in-universe swearwords in 'fic for a number of reasons. One is to show a part of a character when using his voice; for example, 'Kriff. First gakking drop of alcahol in twenty years and it went to his fragging head. And it wasn't even good beer - just the usual sithspit they served in spaceport bars to feth-headed customers that didn't know the world had anything better to offer and wouldn't care if it did. But hey: at least he was out, right?' is far more affective and likely than 'Drat. Fist drop of alcohol in twenty years and it went to his head. Ant it wasn't even good beer - just the usual rubbish served in spaceport bars all over the galaxy to stupid customers that didn't know the world had anything better...'.

Another is that 'Emperor's black bones!', 'Ackbar's Aunt!' and 'Tarkin's Earlobe!' just sound too florrid and ridiculous. I mean, how many people here can honestly put a hand up and promise that they say 'Saddam's Moustache!' or 'Kerry's Chin!' (Not that I am in any way advocating The Shrub over His Kerryness - Vote Kerry, people! ) or 'Osama's Cave-adapted Kidney Dialasis Machine!' when a simple starring out would do? Anyone? Besides, there is a reason the expression 'swearing like a trooper' came about; if it doesn't reference to excretion, sex, or genetalia then it's just not good enough! And if you just say feth all the time, then it's dificult to be torn apart by over-zealous polychromaticpseudonymicals weilding well thumbed, bookmarked, specially bound and indexed copies of the TOS and freshly polished ban-buttons...

(Although, technically, feth doesn't actually fit in with my above theory for soldiers and cusswords. It stems from the phrase 'sacred feth', as Ibram Gaunt explains - and Feth was an ancient deity back in the nalwood forests of lost Tanith...

Then again, they never said Feth wasn't a fertility god, did they?

Or, alternatively, this could just be a very elabourate coup engineered by my subconscious to shoot myself in the foot... )

The other reasons, of course, are less good. One is because of my obsession with Warhammer 40,00 Novels my all pervading homage to Dan Abnett (and Gav Thorpe's psychotic Leiutenant Kage).

The other reasonn is that I just like the sounds.

 

Hey, watch who yer callin' "polychromatic," pardner!

 

Love the .sig, by the way. Although I'd be rather partial to Janson/Kilivian '04, just for the ensuing mayhem... or would that be Janson/Ketch '04?

If you want war-records, you should go with Pelleaon/Bel Iblis '04 - unless, of course, you mind having a president and vice-prez who appear on the holonet in moustaches, dress A's andhospital slippers...

 

sithspawn is a personal fav of mine cuz I think its close to the s-word of the Star Wars Universe. I use it for my generic star wars swear. Also the s-word (and by extension, sithspawn) is one of the funnier "oh great!" / "oh no!" / "oh crap!" things a character can say to let the tension out a bit.

 

Upping.

 

I don't write much swearing, because I don't think it's that needed. Though there are some occasions where it can bring out a certain...emotion...if you could call it that.

For instance, I have Vader once, after he got really annoyed, going 'Sith!' and the cursing quite eloquently in Huttese. Padmé, who's standing next to him, turns to his and says 'you just insulted yourself', because of his use of the word 'Sith' as a swear word and the fact that he is, in fact, a Sith...

He does it because I wanted to show that at least part of his Jedi training was still in him, so to speak. While I don't think Sith would be a widely used swear word, I can see young, more vocal Padawans using it to swear with. In the case above, he was so annoyed that he forgot where and who he was and reverted back to the language of his past- using 'Sith' as a curse as a Padawan and using Huttese, the language of his childhood.

I really agree with ophelia- there are many creative oppourtunities to figure out how to use words other than the 'known' swear words. And really, cursing really isn't needed that much.

A quick question, however. Would úsing 'Force' count?

Like 'of, Force!' or 'By the Force!'

It seems to me that the Force takes on a godly undertone and therefore could it be substituted into phrases that we usually use with 'God'?

I've also seen Maker used sometimes, like 'In the Maker's name, what do you think you're doing!'

Are those considered curses or not?

And this was mentioned awhile back, but words like 'darn' and 'dang' and 'heck' and 'shoot' and other words of a slightly more innocent nature can also be used.

Though I wouldn't ever consider 'gosh' a swear word... Even my great-grandmother would say that. And she didn't like us saying 'oh my goodness'...

 

Speldorion, I'm also a fan of the Gaunt's Ghosts Books, and use Feth in some of my writing.(And no they never did say what Tanith was the Goddess of... )

I also use sithling and sithspawn for really evil people.

Blast is my common, not important swear word.

Other than that, I'll just make them up as I go along.

 

'By the Force!'

It seems to me that the Force takes on a godly undertone and therefore could it be substituted into phrases that we usually use with 'God'?

I tend to use, "By the Force" only with Jedi.

Everyone else I have say "By the Maker".

 

Somewhere, somehow, I recall finding the word 'ground-harler' as a curse in some random Star Wars book. It stuck with me so I used it in some fanfic's. I believe Luceno states that 'Stars' End' is also a curse in LoE. I tend to use hell, damn, and frag the most with an occassional Sith-spit when needed.

 

"Stars" is a fairly commonly used exclamation in fanfic. I can't remember if it's used in the EU. It's not really swearing, but more along the lines of "god" or "gosh"

E.g. "Stars, she's hot!"

"Force" can be used in the same context, but as mentioned above, this only really works for Jedi. Although Alliance members did say "May the Force be with you" in ANH, so maybe it would work for some of the rebels also. My inclinations are against it, though.

"Suns" is also used occasionally in the same fashion, but this really only works if the character is from a binary system like Tatooine

~Lurker

 

Keep in mind that "frack" is Battlestar Galactica and that there is actually a dice game called "farkle". One term I've developed is "bloody son of a Sith," and again, I don't see the Skywalker/Solo clan using this (Luke is the son of a Sith Lord!)

 

I really seem to like "Sithspit" and "Sithspawn" even though I haven't used them in anything yet. Usually I use earth swearing... just stuff like crap and (hiding this in case some really little kid reads this)damn it.

 

Lessee. I don't use cursing all that much, but my usual words are:

kriff
shavit
sith
blast

I've even started using them IRL. *sheepish* But "What the Kriff!" and "the sith just hit the fan" don't get the same reactions as using earth terms.

I don't mind when some of the (lesser) earth curses are used. I mean, they all have actual meanings in conversations, so it's just like any other word with the obscenity added, of course. (You don't have to translate "I walked over there" into sw-speak.)

 

Poodo
By vaders ghost
son of a sith


I could go on and on

 

Hmm...

Kriff and stang are both Zahnisms, but can be considered 'generic', I think - Mara definately says "Stang!" at least once in Balance Point, for example. Stackpole uses a variety of colourful alternatives, and various euphemisms from other franchises have found their way in, at least in fanfic...

I'm trying to remember now if simple "Spit!" is 'fic-specific...

Karen Traviss' novels have given us the wonderful Mandalorian slur di'kut to call people by, and also seen extensive use of the Huttese ejaculation fierfek...

Or, make up your own. It's what everyone else does. In Hostile Forces, I had great fun coming up with an idiom for the NJO-era Imperial military - funk, punk, puke, frag, fist... words generally suggestive of violence or bodily function, ideally both at once...

Oh, and the Yuuzhan Vong khakk...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

I haven't seen this one mentioned before but I believe that in the first Zahn trilogy Leia often used "Jays!" and "Good Skies!" as curses, or at least exclamations.

I've found myself using those on occasion when I'm at work just to keep myself out of trouble.

 

Actually, Thrawn, stang was first used in Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Leia says it.

 

I need a SW swear word that would have a lot of harsh and malovent feeling behind it when expressed, to subsitute for the word "b****"

The phrase I need it in is for:

"Isard is a ------."

The person saying it, is a prisoner of hers for a month and has been tortured every day. He currently has been given the oppurtunity to get out a hidden message to his people by pretending to denounce his government and leader.

The whole hidden message is here: "Recording made against my will. Captive of Isard. Tortured. Refuse, my children die. Son already captive. Protect her. On Strike Cruiser. Isard here. Royal Guards. Stormtroopers. Am dying. Help me or kill me. Isard is a -----."

Thanks