The phrase Expletive Deleted refers to profanity which has been censored by the author or by a subsequent censor. It became popular when transcripts of Richard Nixon's internal tapes were made public. The phrase was put into the court record when the notoriously profanity-laced discussions with H. R. "Bob" Haldeman and other Watergate insiders went beyond the bounds of common decency. The phrase entered the public imagination to the point where protestors outside the White House held up picket signs reading, "IMPEACH THE (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!" As the tapes were declassified over the years, and clips of them were aired on television for documentaries, the word "goddamned" appeared to account for a majority of the references to "Expletive Deleted."
In later years, the phrase became commonplace as an ironic expression which indicates that a profanity has been omitted and passed into general usage as a convenient linguistic figleaf.
The term expletive is commonly used outside linguistics to refer to any "bad language" (or "profanity"), used with or without meaning. Expletives in this wide sense may be adjectives, adverbs, nouns or, most commonly, interjections, or (rarely) verbs.
People who delete expletives may also be interested in using hidden text or spoilers.
Famous quotes containing the word deleted:
“There is never finality in the display terminal’s screen, but an irresponsible whimsicality, as words, sentences, and paragraphs are negated at the touch of a key. The significance of the past, as expressed in the manuscript by a deleted word or an inserted correction, is annulled in idle gusts of electronic massacre.”
—Alexander Cockburn (b. 1941)