WWI Slang--to annoy the X out of someone http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170 M.Redd So, man just back from WWI talking to a woman. He's not mad at her, but is saying to her (about her and another person), "You bug the life out of each other." I don't feel like this works very well, but I feel like, "bug the crap out of each other" is pretty modern. Other contributions? Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:29:52 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1135419 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1135419 sovay Ooh, that's a good question, and I'm kind of wondering the answer to it myself. I definitely think crap is a bit modern - my best guess would be "you bug the hell out of each other," or possibly "you bug the living daylights out of each other." Still both of those still sound a little too modern to me. I suppose in context they might slip past the reader, though. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:33:45 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1135433 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1135433 Phoenix "Crap" has been in use since the 19th century, so I don't see a problem with that. But "bug" is newer--I think it dates to the 1950s. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:20:20 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136047 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136047 vate in that more genteel time "You annoy the stuffing out of each other" may be more realistic Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:14:09 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136293 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136293 Aria617 Do you <em>know</em> how much WWI soldiers swore? About the f-word: "It became so common that an effective way for the soldier to express this emotion was to omit this word. Thus if a sergeant said, 'Get your ----ing rifles!' it was understood as a matter of routine. But if he said 'Get your rifles!' there was an immediate implication of urgency and danger. [John Brophy, "Songs and Slang of the British Soldier: 1914-1918," pub. 1930]" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&amp;search=fuck&amp;searchmode=none) Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:40:36 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136328 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136328 vate there is... how much soldiers swear around each other how much soldiers swear around their families how much soldiers swear around women not always the same, like it seems to be now. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:34:54 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136565 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136565 lasalle202 "bejesus"? Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:11:17 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136606 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136606 Spuggey Shit. It's a common saying here (England) at least... To annoy the shit out of someone. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:15:11 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136925 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136925 lasalle202 i would rephrase and have something like "Stop pushing nettles up each other's dresses." Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:25:42 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136959 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136959 M.Redd Well, I'm still just not sure. I'm not going to have him swear, especially in front of a woman. You didn't swear in front of women. Plus, I promised my father when I was thirteen-years-old that my characters would never say something I wouldn't, and I don't swear ever, even in extreme situations. I could rephrase it, but it isn't even really a reprimand. It's kind of just a statement of fact. Context: "Well, worrying about people is fairly normal, you know," Tom teased Melanie. "It doesn't phase me that you worry about him." Melanie nodded, having to admit that much, but she still wasn't satisfied. "It’s just that...I don’t know. I worried about you, but not the same way that I do about Matthew. And I can’t explain why," she explained. There was a pause as a slight smile drew across Tom’s face. “I think I can,” he said after awhile. "Why?" "You're in love with him, Melanie," Tom laughed, acting much like the boy he had been before the war. "I am not," Melanie insisted childishly. "Yes you are." "Oh, come on, Melanie,” Tom said finally with a smile, through a short cough. “There’s no shame in it. You’re a woman, he’s a man, you spent a lot of time around each other, you annoy the living daylights out of each other, it was bound to happen.” I just don't know what to do. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:34:43 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138123 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138123 Phoenix I'm not sure that that particular usage of faze would have been common then. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:22:53 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138283 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138283 onesecondglance What's wrong with what you've got? It seems to be "in voice" for the character. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:13:48 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138700 lasalle202 completely unsolicited and only tangentially related advice [quote=M.Redd] I promised my father when I was thirteen-years-old that my characters would never say something I wouldn't, [/quote] part of being a fiction writer is creating worlds of different people who have different opinions and different goals and different views of the world and how those clash and or can be worked out. Limiting your characters to "those who sound like me" is a good recipe for creating bland stories with banal interactions between cardboard cookie cutter characters. let your characters express "themselves" like <em>they</em> would, dont limit them to how <em>you</em> would express yourself. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:57:39 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138946 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138946 Aria617 Agreed. They don't have to swear if you're not comfortable with it, but if their character is one who would swear, it would be odd for them not to... Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:27:55 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1139003 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1139003 M.Redd Good thought. I'll have to think about that. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:40:43 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1140307 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1140307 M.Redd My characters express ideas I never would all the time. They treat other people ways I never would all the time. But my father once told me (and he's a man I greatly respect), "It's really easy to make people feel bad. It's not so easy to make them feel good. So, which is better art? That which is hard, or that which is easy?" If it's something that I need to invoke compassion, pity or concern, that's completely different. But I know I feel uncomfortable when I hear or read excessive swearing. So, I never said you can't write it, but I just never will. Because I believe in it, and because I believe in the very out-of-date practice of keeping promises. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:43:01 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1140314 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1140314 lasalle202 even more unsolicited and off topic commentary that you are completely free to ignore. There are reasons that thirteen year olds are not allowed to sign legally binding contracts. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:05:04 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1141497 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1141497 lasalle202 [quote=lasalle202] even more unsolicited and off topic commentary that you are completely free to ignore. There are reasons that thirteen year olds are not allowed to sign legally binding contracts. [/quote] <em>oops - hit submit instead of preview.</em> but if as an adult writer you have determined that you can write the stories and characters that you want without swearing, that's perfectly possible and has produced many successful and interesting works throughout history. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:36:12 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1141589 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1141589 Aria617 (OP is 20 if you look at her page. She promised her dad when she wast 13, not is 13) Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:35:53 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1141658 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/50170?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1141658