I'm going to paste in what I wrote earlier in the YKTTW
Yes, there are examples where an euphemism is used as an expletive. But the two play fundamentally different roles in language.
- a word that contributes nothing to meaning but suggests the strength of feeling of the speaker
- a word or expression that is strongly impolite or offensive
Euphemism: a generally innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant.
They are different within the work, ie the characters have different relations to the word.
An Unusual Euphemism
is used because the characters for some reason are uncomfortable with using the "straight" word. Look at all the synonyms that have been used for the toilet. "Huge tracts of land" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
is another great example.
An Unusual Expletive
is exactly what the characters mean to say. There is generally no phrase or word that has been substituted. The Captain of Tintin uses a huge range of original expletives, but they're not euphemisms. Likewise for "drokk" of Judge Dredd
, or the exclamations of famous scientists in Luther Arkwright
Goshdang It To Heck
can be viewed as the intersection between the two usages: it's expletives that at the same time are euphemisms. In natural languages, these can further evolve into full expletives, and need a new euphemism.
Wick check tomorrow - I started one but realised I messed things up.