Ameliorated words of offensive origin

Tue Feb 27 22:05:34 UTC 2001

On Tue, 27 Feb 2001 16:13:59 -0500 Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
writes:
> I'm working on a short and pressingly-deadlined essay and need to
> come up with examples of words that are viewed as innocuous today
> (or at least not _that_ bad) but whose origins are offensive

You still can't say "screw you," but I think that "I was screwed" is
acceptable in casual venues.

How 'bout Goodbye? A contraction of "God be with you." I can't track it
down right now, but I have read that when it came into vogue with Harvard
undergrads in the 17th or early 18th Century, it was considered a profane
(I was going to say sacrilegious, but I can't spell it) use of Gods name
by the Puritans and outlawed.

D