# Sugar! = euphemism for 'shit'?



## phil_34

Hi, I wonder if this is correct. Can 'sugar!' be used as a euphemism for 'shit!'? I've found it on this link:

http://www.dict.cc/?s=Sugar!

But this is the only source I've come across this, not even urbandictionary.dom mentions it's a euphemism for shit. So what are your opinions? I know that the Americans say 'shoot!' as a euphemism for 'shit!' But is it correct that the Brits use 'sugar!' ?


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## Parla

> I know that the Americans say 'shoot!' as a euphemism for 'shit!' But is it correct that the Brits use 'sugar!' ?


I don't know about the Brits, but _both_ "Shoot!" and "Sugar!" are used by Americans.


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## velisarius

You heard it here first folks: sugar: as an interjection. I'm a Brit and I use "sugar" sometimes - I more often use it as a euphemism than I put it in my coffeee, anyway.


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## phil_34

Okay, thanks for your answers. So I now know that it's safe to say 'sugar!' as an interjection. dict.cc is not always reliable...


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## phil_34

Okay, thanks for your answers. So I now know that it's safe to say 'sugar!' as an interjection. dict.cc is not always reliable...

Is it only used by women, velisarius? Or can men also use it, without sounding effeminate?


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## velisarius

I can't recall hearing it said by men. The tendency today anyway is for people to use more direct language. "Sugar" may be a little quaint.


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## Pedro y La Torre

velisarius said:


> I can't recall hearing it said by men. The tendency today anyway is for people to use more direct language. "Sugar" may be a little quaint.



My mother uses it a lot (she's 60). I don't know anyone else who does, come to think of it.


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## pob14

My dad said it all the time, and he wasn't even slightly effeminate.  For my part, I sometimes extend it to "Oh, Sugar Smacks!"

I should point out, though, that I'm less than a decade younger than Pedro y La Torre's mother.


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## phil_34

Okay I'll go for 'shoot'. As I'm writing in British English, it's not quite accurate. But 'sugar' wouldn't be either. I thought 'sugar' was British English. Do young Brits have a euphemism for 'shit' which men can use?


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## Rover_KE

In my experience, young men in the UK don't hesitate to say 'shit'.

They've been saying it for years.

If they knew what 'euphemism' meant, they'd consider 'crap' to be it.


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## PaulQ

phil_34 said:


> Okay I'll go for 'shoot'. As I'm writing in British English, it's not quite accurate. But 'sugar' wouldn't be either.


As a BE speaker, 'sugar' is far closer to BE than "shoot", which I see as AE.


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## Loob

Phil, whose mouth do you plan to put this euphemism into - is the character young/old, male/female? Is (s)he taking tea with Granny, out drinking with friends, playing with a group of under-fives? Why does (s)he feel the urge to say "shit" and why would (s)he want to substitute a euphemism?


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## Parla

Actually, most people I know, of both sexes and all ages, say "Shit!" Occasionally, I hear "Shoot!" I rarely hear "Sugar!" anymore, and I don't think I've _ever_ heard it from a _man_.


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## MattiasNYC

I've never ever heard "sugar!" said by someone who used it instead of "Shit!". Not a single time. And I too live in NYC and here it seems every third word is a curse word...


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## MarcB

I have heard shoot and sugar as euphemisms. I haven't heard sugar in the last 40 years.Crap is still current.


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## JamesM

I've heard sugar recently.  I have two friends who use it, both female.  One is in her forties and the other in her sixties.


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## mr cat

I'm a British man, albeit middle-aged, and I would say 'sugar' if I was in the presence of someone with whom I would want to moderate my language.
Sort of shhhhugar.


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## velisarius

Loob said:


> Phil, whose mouth do you plan to put this euphemism into - is the character young/old, male/female? Is (s)he taking tea with Granny, out drinking with friends, playing with a group of under-fives? Why does (s)he feel the urge to say "shit" and why would (s)he want to substitute a euphemism?



Please provide this kind of context as Loob suggests. There would probably have to be  a reason for a young British male to feel the need to use a euphemism for "shit" instead of just saying the word. "Shit" is pretty mild I think  - I even say it myself sometimes


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## phil_34

Loob said:


> Phil, whose mouth do you plan to put this euphemism into - is the character young/old, male/female? Is (s)he taking tea with Granny, out drinking with friends, playing with a group of under-fives? Why does (s)he feel the urge to say "shit" and why would (s)he want to substitute a euphemism?



Thanks again to all of you.

Loob, Velisarius, I'm (I'm male) writing a memoir. In the passage I want to mention this I'm 34 years old, addressing the reader (which I think will be between 20-30 years old). I'm speaking(writing) about something I'm surprised. An alternative medicine practitioner calculated my 'biological age of the tissue', and it's far too old. It reads:

_'And the best, a calculated biological age of the tissue of 65 years. Sugar! I can go on pension.'

_Throughout the book I'm using lots of 'bugger, rubbish, phew, blimey, shit, crumbs, jeez, bollocks, and also fuck...' so for once I want to use the euphemism if it's accurate in the context.


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## ewie

It sounds utterly utterly _weird_ to me in that context, Phil, unless you happened to be talking to your Victorian spinster aunt at the time and she'd threatened to cut you off without a penny if you ever swore again.

Young chaps don't use euphemisms unless they absolutely *have to*.


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## phil_34

ewie said:


> It sounds utterly utterly _weird_ to me in that context, Phil, unless you happened to be talking to your Victorian spinster aunt at the time and she'd threatened to cut you off without a penny if you ever swore again.
> 
> Young chaps don't use euphemisms unless they absolutely *have to*.



Lol . Ok Ewie, thank you. In that case I'm not going to use it. I'll go for 'crap' instead.


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## sound shift

Yes, but anyway, some people substitute "Sugar!" for "Shit!" where "Shit!" would be an exclamation, eg the moment they break something, whereas your "Sugar!", Phil (post 19), is humorous, rather than an exclamation. Some people might well say "Shit!" here (and since you expect a readership of 20-to-30 year-olds, I see no reason why you shouldn't do so), but "Sugar!" doesn't work for me here.


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## ewie

I'm afraid to say that _Crap!_ doesn't work for me either ~ it's too half-hearted


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## Pedro y La Torre

_Shite _seems less offensive to me than _shit_. Am I imagining this?


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## George French

Pedro y La Torre said:


> _Shite _seems less offensive to me than _shit_. Am I imagining this?



In a way using shite is worse that using shit. One is trying to be well brought up, unfortunately you can't hide the shit behind shite. 

GF..

"You can't have your cake and still eat it!" Note this is my nice variant:- there are many near clones of this out there..


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## phil_34

Sound shift thanks for your answer. Well, if it sounds humorous then that's the right word. But you also said it didn't work for you. Is it or is it not okay in my sentence?


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## ewie

The problem with expletives, Phil, is that not everyone uses the same ones in the same way (and some people genuinely do say _Sugar!_ when they obviously mean ~ and have no good reason for not saying ~ _Shit!_)

For example, I'd only use _Crap!_ (or rather: _Oh crap!_) to mean, "Something bad has just happened. / Something bad is just about to happen."  _Shit!_ can mean "That's terrible! / That's brilliant! / That's a surprise! / Wow! / I don't believe you!" and no doubt other things I can't think of off-hand.

And I would never use _Shite!_ as a one-word expletive.  (And _[I can't believe I'm agreeing with George French about something]_ for me _shite_ is even *worse* than plain old _shit_)

If you're determined to avoid using _shit_, you could always say _Holy crap!_ which ~ to me ~ is a good deal more humorous than undiluted _Crap!_  But if you're determined to have a *one-word* expletive, _Shit!_ is the only one that works for me


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## MattiasNYC

I think it sounds ridiculous. But that's just my opinion of course.


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## Loob

I very much agree with ewie and sound shift.





phil_34 said:


> ... I'm speaking(writing) about something I'm surprised. ...





phil_34 said:


> ... I'll go for 'crap' instead.


"Shit!" can indicate surprise; "crap!" doesn't, and nor does "sugar!"

As everyone says, stick with "shit!"


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## Nomenclature

Actually, I think using "Gosh" or "my goodness" would be more appropriate than a euphemism for "shit" in this case. And for the record, my mum used to say "oh sugarplum" all the time. Don't say that though. People will think you're mad.


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## Truffula

I think in the context phil_34 wrote, "Sugar!" is the perfect choice.

First of all, the narrator is swearing not out of surprise but a kind of exasperation.  Secondly, the narrator is swearing literally about being much older than he thought, so using an exclamation that sounds more natural for an older person than the young man he is, strikes the perfect humorous chord.


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## velisarius

I suggest something like "blimey!" Phil, which to me sounds just slightly funny in your context, even though you've used it before. It is the sort of mild expletive that an older person might use.


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## phil_34

Thanks again to all of you guys. Well, now I've got the agony of choice. 'Shit', 'holy crap', 'sugar', 'blimey', 'gosh' or 'my goodness'. I have yet to make up my mind....

I've another one on my mind. What about 'oh my!' ?


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## Smauler

_"And the best, a calculated biological age of the tissue of 65 years. Sugar! I can go on pension."_

"Blimey", "gosh", "my goodness" and "oh my" are antiquated, and sound odd.  "Bloody hell" may work, or "Jesus".  My dad always would say "Strewth" here, although that has become more associated with Australia in recent years.

Also "I can go on pension" should be "I can get a pension".


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## sound shift

Another possibility, which I don't think will sound antiquated or vulgar to anyone, is "Just think! I can get a pension."


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## George French

velisarius said:


> I suggest something like "blimey!" Phil, which to me sounds just slightly funny in your context, even though you've used it before. It is the sort of mild expletive that an older person might use.



One of the definition of blimey is:-Brit  slang  an exclamation of surprise or annoyance
Etymology: 19th Century: short for _gorblimey_ *God blind me*​
We used to get detention for this piece of blasphemy. And a few wallops on the backside.. *And rightly so,* in those days, more than 50 years back... Hasn't the world changed?

GF..

Have the mores shifted that much???


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## phil_34

Smauler said:


> _"And the best, a calculated biological age of the tissue of 65 years. Sugar! I can go on pension."_
> 
> "Blimey", "gosh", "my goodness" and "oh my" are antiquated, and sound odd.  "Bloody hell" may work, or "Jesus".  My dad always would say "Strewth" here, although that has become more associated with Australia in recent years.
> 
> Also "I can go on pension" should be "I can get a pension".




Thank you for pointing that out Smauler. I've amended 'go on pension'. It's so difficult to write like a native speaker at all times.

Ok I won't go for 'oh my'. Maybe 'yay! I can get a pension.' sounds good .


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## phil_34

Guys, I've thought about it. And I have to say I should stick to 'sugar!' Because if I say 'shit' it sounds as though I take the result seriously, as though I'd really believe I was (me of course) 65 years. But I poke fun at it, I don't really believe it. Of course I know that I'm not 65 years old. So I want to mock the result and therefore can't say 'shit', but 'sugar' sounds perfect to me to convey that meaning. 

What do you think? If you don't agree, would you really say 'shit' about something you don't take seriously? (ironically saying shit?)


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## George French

phil_34 said:


> What do you think? If you don't agree, would you really say 'shit' about something you don't take seriously? (ironically saying shit?)



There's a load of shit this thread! Now am I being serious or not?

GF..

Now is that a serious question or a non serious question?
Do I think my posts to this thread are full of shit or not??
Wot  ay lowd ov Shite!  I Kaant eefen spel... shugger.


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## phil_34

. How awful!  Lol


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## Packard

MattiasNYC said:


> I've never ever heard "sugar!" said by someone who used it instead of "Shit!". Not a single time. And I too live in NYC and here it seems every third word is a curse word...



I would not expect to hear it in a place where cursing is the norm.  A sailor at sea saying "Oh, sugar!" would probably be thrown overboard.  It is in the more genteel society where you might hear this.  

As to offence, it depends upon who is listening.  

For many years I considered "Oh, geez!" an innocuous expression.  But some religious sorts will take offense.  

So is, "Oh, sugar!" acceptable?  If the listener automatically translates "Oh, sugar!" into "Oh, shit!", and if that same listener is offended by the expression, then maybe.

I think it is safe (but then I thought "Oh, Geez" was safe too).

If I were trying to be amusing, I'd probably go with something like, "Oh, excrement!" or "Holy loose bowels".

And resorting to Latin is always safe (which we used to do in high school, but I cannot recall the part of speech, but this spilled out of our mouths easily:  Defecaverimus!


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## Smauler

Relating to "genteel" society :

The upper class and the lower class are most likely to just say "shit".  The middle class are more likely to say "sugar" as a euphemism.

This is similar to the loo/toilet issue.


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## phil_34

Packard said:


> I would not expect to hear it in a place where cursing is the norm.  A sailor at sea saying "Oh, sugar!" would probably be thrown overboard.  It is in the more genteel society where you might hear this.
> 
> As to offence, it depends upon who is listening.
> 
> For many years I considered "Oh, geez!" an innocuous expression.  But some religious sorts will take offense.
> 
> So is, "Oh, sugar!" acceptable?  If the listener automatically translates "Oh, sugar!" into "Oh, shit!", and if that same listener is offended by the expression, then maybe.
> 
> I think it is safe (but then I thought "Oh, Geez" was safe too).
> 
> If I were trying to be amusing, I'd probably go with something like, "Oh, excrement!" or "Holy loose bowels".
> 
> And resorting to Latin is always safe (which we used to do in high school, but I cannot recall the part of speech, but this spilled out of our mouths easily:  Defecaverimus!



I think I've found the phrase I've been looking for. 'Holy loose bowels' . Thank you very much indeed Packard. Thanks also to Smauler for your comment.


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## Loob

phil_34 said:


> I think I've found the phrase I've been looking for. 'Holy loose bowels' . Thank you very much indeed Packard. ...


Well, that makes two of you who would say "Holy loose bowels!"


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## Packard

phil_34 said:


> I think I've found the phrase I've been looking for. 'Holy loose bowels' . Thank you very much indeed Packard. Thanks also to Smauler for your comment.


I might note that "Holy loose bowels" is not conventionally used in AE.  Indeed it might in fact be a Packard construction.


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## phil_34

I guess, people will understand it very well.


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## Packard

phil_34 said:


> I guess, people will understand it very well.



I checked with my co-workers and they all seemed to understand the phrase--they found it amusing--so I think you are good-to-go (pardon the pun).


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## phil_34

Thanks again Packard. That's good to hear. Lol, I translated it into Swiss German and told my dad, he couldn't help grinning.


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