Blue talk is profane language or topics deemed offensive, varying by culture and company. The term “blue” dates back to 1800, with unclear origins. Conversation rules have changed, but personal values differ. Being sensitive helps navigate social situations.
Blue talk is language or a topic that is not suitable for polite conversation. It is typically characterized by the use of words considered profane, along with discussion of topics deemed offensive. What qualifies as blue talk varies depending on the culture and company being held. As a general rule, if you’re not sure whether something will be considered offensive or not, it’s best to keep quiet.
The use of “blue” to describe something profane dates back to around 1800, but the origins of this use of the word are a little unclear. Supposedly, prostitutes in France were made to wear distinctive blue clothing in prison to make them easy to identify, and that could explain it, but this claim is hard to verify. Blue is also used in many other ways to refer to concepts other than the color royal blue, such as depression, and the roots of these meanings are sometimes equally obscure.
Whatever the origins of “blue” as in “layman,” people in the United States were certainly referring to blue speech in the 1840s, and the word spread very quickly to other corners of the English-speaking world. When one talks blue a lot, one could say that someone is “turning the air blue”, but, interestingly, when someone “talks with a blue streak”, it just means that they spoke very quickly, not necessarily blasphemously. although when someone “swears at a blue stripe,” they talk fast and are hurtful in the process.
Historically, blue talk about women and children was particularly frowned upon, and conversation in general tended to be more vulgar among the lower classes than the upper classes. While these principles still hold true in many societies, the rules of acceptable conversation have changed dramatically; For example, women used to not be encouraged to participate in political discussions in the United States, but now they are running for president.
Different people have different personal values, especially when it comes to language. Some people, for example, throw F-bombs left and right in their conversations, while others prefer to reserve strong language for particularly difficult situations. Crude language such as slang terms referring to genitalia can also be frowned upon in mixed company, especially when such language is used to describe someone who is not in the room. Topics that are acceptable in some families are taboo in others, and words that mean little to some people are deeply offensive to others. Being aware of the need to be sensitive can help people navigate social situations more easily.
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