swearing like a sailor
Extremely vulgar language
Swearing like a sailor means cursing freely and abundantly, with the rough vocabulary stereotypically associated with naval crews.
The phrase acknowledges that sailors have long had a reputation for colorful profanity: My grandmother swears like a sailor when she's angry.
It usually carries a note of amused observation rather than genuine shock.
- curseInvoked harm through words
- expletiveProfane emotional utterance
- salty languageCrude or profane speech
- obscenityIndecent word or act
- longshoremanHarbor freight worker
dockworker · rant · outburst · invective · truck driver · vulgarity · slur · pirate · blasphemy · miner · soldier · construction worker · locker room talk · fisherman · diatribe · choice words · bartender · sports rivalry
swearing like a sailorpolite conversation
Courteous social discourse
prim and proper · proper English · Queen's English · BBC English
swearing like a sailormeasured speech
Carefully controlled verbal expression
biting one's tongue · buttoned-up · self-censoring · diplomatic language · holding one's peace
swear, swears, swearing, swearer, swearers, forswear, sailor, sailors, sailed