Z is for Zounds

People nowadays lack so much creativity in their swearing. Anyone who's read Shakespeare with a careful eye will tell you that crudeness and crass language abounded even then--but I'm of a mind to be more forgiving of what was done poetically. I wish we still heard some of these swears/euphemisms/expressions, because I'm getting very tired of the f word:
Zounds--a real oath, euphemized, if I may coin a term, from "God's wounds".
God's teeth--I have no idea why anyone would swear by this, but it is certainly not boring.
A pox upon thee!--self-explanatory, I should imagine.
Fie--an mild term of disgust, as in "Fie on taxation!" or "Oh, fie, I stubbed my toe."
By my troth--equivalent to "by my word," but more poetic, I think. Often used as an expression of surprise, like today's "Holy cow" (or cruder "holy" things). Troth means truth.
Sooth--sooth also means truth, or truly. As in, "Sooth, but he has a vile tongue."
Faith!--one of my favorites, for obvious reasons. Used similarly to the previous entry in my little dictionary here.
(A million points to whoever uses one of these most creatively in the comments! ;)

Thanks to everyone who has joined me in this little Antiquarian Alphabet for the A to Z challenge. By my troth, it's been great fun. :) And I hope you'll be back, because I've got more great things planned for May!

Comments

  1. God's teeth!!! That's too funny. Maybe people were afraid of God biting their heads off.

    Our little Latin Mass choir is dwindling in numbers, but by God's teeth we'll keep it going.

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  2. My favorite's a variation: "A pox on both your houses."

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