A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo term to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. Some examples include "gosh" for God, "darn" for damn, and "heck" for Hell.
Many languages have such expressions. In the English language, nearly all profanities have minced variants.
Read more about Minced Oath: Formation, History, Acceptability, Literature and Censorship, Examples
Famous quotes containing the word oath:
“On principle I dislike an oath which requires a man to swear he has not done wrong. It rejects the Christian principle of forgiveness on terms of repentance. I think it is enough if the man does no wrong hereafter.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)