In some family-oriented works, instead of using completely made-up swear words, real but relatively mild curses such as "hell"note and "damn" will get promoted to the top of the swearing ladder. To make up for the situation, they may use a Bowdlerisation of it.
Contrary to popular belief, the words "damn" and "hell" are permissible in a G-rated film. For example, the 1971 movie Airport had both ("Where the hell are you?" and "You've always got some damn excuse!") and it still received a G rating, though movie-rating standards have changed since then. Planet of the Apes (1968) received a G rating, despite famous lines like "You damn, dirty apes" and "Goddamn you all to hell!" Even some G-rated animated features, such as Sleeping Beauty (1959), Ratatouille, The Secret of NIMH, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, have included mild swear words. It's worth noting, however, that "hell" can refer to the place and "damn" can mean to condemn to said place, and thus aren't swear words when used in that manner even if such concepts are a little heavy for children. "Bitch" (the official term for a female dog, from which the derogatory use is derived) and "ass" (an alternate name for a donkey) almost never get such passes, unless it is made explicit and obvious that the non-swear meaning is intended.
While "damn" is normally permissible, "goddamn" is considered blasphemous in many Christian sects and so historically could even be seen as being on par with "fuck", if not worse, resulting in literal examples of *Bleep*-dammit!. (This is particularly true in the US.) So, for instance, the M*A*S*H movie when shown on television has had Sergeant Gorman's catchphrase, "Goddamn Army", bowdlerised to "Damn Army". These days however, while many Christians continue to avoid using the term, it's rarely seen as an f-word level curse, and is mostly just treated as a mild-to-moderate swear word.
Some words are considered more acceptable in some contexts than others. For instance, in the UK, "bloody" is a PG-level swear word when used as an epithet, but is otherwise fine when used in a literal sense. The reverse can also be true; for instance, using "piss" literally is generally seen as more offensive than saying that someone "pissed" you off.
There can also be cultural differences in the relative severity of swear words. For example, the words "damn" and "hell" are seen as curse words in the US, but not in most other English-speaking countries. Conversely, most Americans wouldn't consider the word "crap" to be a proper cuss word, but those in the UK absolutely would.
The use of "Hades" as a substitute for "hell" is theologically correct in the proper context, but is often misused for any context in which "hell" would work. Using Hades for Satan is never correct, though. See The Underworld article for other terms that may be substituted in this manner in works based on other theological settings.
The kid-friendly variant of Bowdlerise. A favorite tool of the Badbutt, aka a G-rated badass. Another character type known for this is the Minnesota Nice. If the setting forces everyone to swear like this, you are looking at a Magical Profanity Filter.
Contrast Cluster F-Bomb which is the exact opposite. See also Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head, Curse of The Ancients, Mondegreen Gag, Never Say "Die", T-Word Euphemism, Unusual Euphemism, Witch with a Capital "B", and the Wikipedia article on minced oaths.
This trope is about moments where swearing is deliberately censored or a replacement to a real-life swear word is used. The example subpages and folders below are not to list moments where you personally think that swearing would have looked cool, or for moments where you believe swearing would have improved a line.
Gosh darn example subpages:
- Comic Books
- Fan Works
- Films — Animation
- Films — Live-Action
- Literature
- Live-Action TV
- Music
- Video Games
- Webcomics
- Web Original
- Western Animation
- Other Media
- Real Life
- What, no stinger on this page? Aw ffffiddlesticks!!