Have you ever wondered whether it would be worse to yell ‘b*llocks’ or ‘bullsh*t’ on a packed train?
Or perhaps you called someone an ‘arse’ in the heat of a row, and wish you’d landed something with a bit more bite?
You’re in luck, for YouGov – renowned for taking Britain’s temperature on elections, referenda, and other history-making issues – decided it’s now time to find out which swear words we find the rudest.
Detailed polling also uncovered our favourite expletives and how views vary widely based on factors such as gender, age and whether or not you’re Scottish.
The infamous C-word topped the list of most offensive terms, with 82% finding it ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ objectionable.
But only 23% of us bat an eyelid at ‘sh*t’, apparently.
The list includes words as old as the English language as well as ones which appeared in our lifetime.
Two were coined by TV shows: ‘smeg’, which originated on Red Dwarf, and ‘pimhole’, from a Fry & Laurie sketch about not being able to use real swear words.
The third-most offensive term – ‘fatherf*cker’ – was lifted out of obscurity when comedian Frankie Boyle used it to get around Ofcom restrictions on ‘motherf*cker’.
Americanisms such as ‘d*uchebag’ and ‘jerk’ also appear, though they were found to lack the punch of British classics such as ‘w*nker’ and ‘tw*t’.
A majority of respondents (57%) admitted they swear most days, with just 8% insisting they never do.
More than two-fifths (41%) of men said they swear every day, compared to 33% of women.
Only a third of us (33%) look down on swearing, or 39% of women and 29% of men.
Scots were found to be the most likely to have a positive view of swearing (22%, compared to 16% in England and 22% in Wales).
Meanwhile Wales has the lowest proportion of people who turn their nose up at it (22%, compared to 35% in England and 27% in Scotland.
As for our favourite swear words, ‘f*ck’ wins out comfortably as the weapon of choice for 24% of Brits, with ‘c*nt’ a distant second-place on 11% and ‘sh*t’ and ‘b*llocks’ tied for third.
Scots were found to be the biggest fans of the F-word, with 39% naming it their favourite, compared to 23% in England and 21% in Wales.
Britain’s multicultural heritage is displayed among entries lower down the list, with the Irish ‘feck’, Polish ‘kurwa’, Russian ‘blyat’, Spanish ‘bastardo’ and French ‘putain’ all being named by at least some respondents.
It also included erudite entries such as ‘codfangler’, ‘botheration’, ’embuggerance’ and ‘c*ntsmudge’.
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Perceived rudeness was also found to vary by region.
For example in England, more northerners found ‘tw*t’ offensive (51%)than southerners (33%).
The study also found most Brits still support the TV watershed, made law in 1964, which prevents ‘foul language’ being broadcast before 9pm.
YouGov’s research team said: ‘Six decades later, this line in the sand for ‘foul language’ is still implicitly supported by Britons, who see swearing on TV before 9pm as unacceptable by a margin of 69% to 27%, but acceptable after 9pm by a margin of 77% to 20%.’
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