On Apr 9, 2007, at 13:14, Susan Reishus wrote:
Conjecture here, but I think that "ruddy" is related to what in the US we call 'red-neck," of which is a person who is in the sun too much, implying a blue collared worker, and tending toward drink and a flush to the face, and all of the free flowing communication that can come with that.
The *original* meaning of "redneck" might have been similiar to "ruddy" (except that "redneck" is a noun, and "ruddy" an adjective) but "redneck" has, by now, acquired enough cultural "baggage" to make it a very distinct word, not translatable into the "other English" :)
It could also be a polite substitute for "bloody" as was shared, just as here people have taken to using "frickin" and versions of that, as a substitution for what is considered the most egregious four letter of word of all.
The *really* "funny" thing about "fricking"... It's, I think, a -- fairly recent -- corruption of "frigging". Which is, probably, a euphemism for the other f-word, but very, very old. IIRC, both "frigging" and "tupping" are used by Shakespeare himself... :)
I think swear words are much more common everywhere, and being of a middle age, and having previously been proper most of my life, have taken to using a word or two,
<VBG> I stopped using swear words on a daily basis when I got pregnant (didn't want the little blighter picking them up from me, did I?) though my first "check" was when I heard my Mother use something she must have heard while chaperoning a teen party at our place. I was really appalled to hear her use such language and, knowing that I must have contributed to her corruption made me feel quite guilty :)
But I agreed with her... one needs to *know* such language, because it's a part of the richness of expression. One simply uses it seldom, to preserve its potency.
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