History Main / TWordEuphemism

* One splash in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' is "Doesn't use the U-word!" The consensus among fans is that the U-word in question is Unity, a common 3D game engine (Minecraft uses Java). As such, this trope is PlayedForLaughs here.

** In ''Literature/GoingPostal'', after Moist von Lipwig goes on a screaming tirade about Reacher Gilt's smug, [[WeaselWords weasely]] speech in the Ankh-Morpork Times, the ultra-prim Miss Maccalariat admonishes him to avoid using the K-word, the L-word, the T-word, the V-word, the Y-word, and ''both'' of the S-words in the future. "Murdering conniving bastard of a weasel" ''was'' acceptable, however, since he was talking about [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Reacher Gilt]].

* Played with in a scene in ''Film/RushHour 3''. Carter and Lee are interrogating a man who speaks only French, so they enlist a nun, who's fluent in French, to translate. So, naturally, when she translates the prisoner's taunts, she summarizes with "Well, he used the N-word". For the rest of the scene, Carter and Lee ask her to translate things like "Tell this piece of S-word that I will personally F-word him up", complete with brief stops to determine the spelling of some of the words.

* In ''VideoGame/NoStraightRoads'', Bunk Bed Junction face against the VirtualCelebrity Sayu. After talking with the digital mermaid for a bit, Mayday gets fed up and says it's pointless to talk to Sayu because she's not real. Zuke quickly tells her she can't use "the R-word" around Sayu as [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman it's taboo in the Akusuka District]]. Mayday ends up even more fed up at that statement.

* The comedic subplot of the ''Series/LALaw'' episode " Beef Jerky" had Grace prosecuting the theft of bull semen. During testimony to explain how the samples are collected, the technician shyly asks the judge "May I say the "p-word"? May I say the "c-word"?". The supposedly fed-up judge orders Grace and the defense attorney into his chambers---where they all burst into hysterical laughter as soon as the door is closed.

* In his memoir, ''Spare'', when describing the vitriol aimed at his girlfriend, then eventual wife Creator/MeghanMarkle, [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Prince Harry]] mentions her repeatedly being referred to as "[[TWordEuphemism the c-word" or "the n-word"]], refusing to write either word explicitly. Very telling considering that he otherwise had no issue with using profanity throughout the book.

* ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' has Alice, in order to avoid frightening a nervous mouse, referring to cats and dogs as "C and D".

More contemporary authors treat this as a DeadHorseTrope with all related snarkery -- expect a dash of LampshadeHanging as characters marvel that [[MediumAwareness someone could pronounce all those dashes and ampersands]]. Compare TradeSnark.

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} by Creator/LouisCK, where he points out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF1NUposXVQ how redundant this trope can be:]]

* ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}''

* ''Film/{{The Parent Trap|1998}}'' (Creator/LindsayLohan remake) makes use of this trope when Hallie-As-Annie talks to her mother.

-->[[http://www.classicreader.com/book/1207/2/ Excerpt:]] Why---- ---- ----you you---- ---- ---- ---- mules you sneered he because the poor mules were not able to go any quicker ---- you I will show you Why---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----it sneered he his oaths growing viler and viler I will whip you---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----you sos you will not be able to walk for a week---- ----you you mean old---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----mules you

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'': In an episode “Turtle Terminator”, Krang sends a robot that inflicts a BeamSpam attack on anything even remotely resembling a turtle. Including toys, balloons and even somebody uttering the word “turtle”. The turtles and [[IntrepidReporter April]] manage to draw this robot over to an abandoned amusement park where it can’t hurt any innocent bystanders. Unfortunately, April’s ditzy friend Irma is there too. April locates Irma and warns her to never use the “T-word” in here. [[LateToThePunchline Irma realizes what the T-word is, only when the robot starts raining blaster fire towards her]].
* From the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'':

* In Japan, anything sexual or erotic is colliquially referred to by the letter H[[note]]Derived from the word ''hentai'', meaning ''perversion''[[/note]], which is also where the fan-term {{Ecchi}} comes from. It's also used a slang for having sex with the verb H-suru, literally meaning "to do H".

* Played for laughs in ''[[Film/TheBradyBunch A Very Brady Sequel]]'', when the villain confronts Mr. Brady with a threat to "kick your Brady butt!" The family gasps, and little Cindy exclaims "Daddy, he said the B-Word!"

* Played with in a scene in ''Film/RushHour 3''. Carter and Lee are interrogating a man who speaks only French, so they enlist a nun, who's fluent in French, to translate. So, naturally, when she translates the prisoner's taunts, she summarizes with "Well, he used the N-word". For the rest of the scene, Carter and Lee ask her to translate things like "Tell this piece of S-word that I will personally F-word him up", complete with brief stops to determine the spelling of some of the words.
* A right-wing American senator in ''Film/InTheLoop'' repeatedly uses minced oaths rather than swear words. When Malcolm Tucker dresses him down, Tucker says, "You are a real boring fuck. Sorry, sorry, I know that you disapprove of the swearing, so I'll sort that out: You are a boring f-star-star-''cunt''."
* The trope is comically subverted in UK cop film ''Film/HotFuzz''. The police station's swear box has a list of prohibited swear words, each of which is {{bowdlerise}}d -- except '[[CountryMatters cunt]]'.

* The 1958 film of ''Film/AuntieMame'' used this. The title character has given her nephew a pad of paper on which he can write down any words he hears and doesn't understand. When he mentions his father's opinion of her (basically that she's not fit to raise a dog, much less a child), she takes the pad from him and begins to write:
-->'''Patrick:''' What's that?\\
'''Auntie Mame:''' That's a "B", dear. The first letter in a seven-letter word that means your late father.
* ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'':
** Roxie does this while attempting to finish off Scott in a fight.
--->'''Roxie:''' Your BF's about to get F'd in the B!
** Earlier:
--->'''Other Scott:''' Is this an Envy related dream?\\
'''Wallace:''' We don't use the E-word in this house.
** All these T-words are probably why Scott is confused about what, exactly, the L-word is[[note]]He thought it was "lesbian" instead of "love[[/note]].
* In ''Film/EasyA'' Olive admits to her parents that she got sent to the principal for calling another girl an inappropriate word. They ask her what letter the word started with, since her little brother is around, but then can't think of a bad word that starts with T (it was "twat").
* In ''Film/Deadpool2'', "family" has always been an "F-word" for Wade - a moral of the film is about him and others finding a FamilyOfChoice.
* In ''Film/BattleForThePlanetOfTheApes'', humans are forbidden to use the word "no" or any similar "negative imperative" if they are addressing apes, who can, in turn, freely use it on each other and on humans. The justification is because the humans used to keep the apes as slaves and conditioning them to respond to the word "no" was part of the training before they fully developed human-level intelligence.

* From the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'':
-->'''Hank:''' Ah, double dammit!\\
'''Dean:''' Hank! You said the double-D word!

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
-->'''Brian:''' ''[referring to a mole on Stewie]'' I think it could be... the c-word.\\
'''Stewie:''' What does ''[[CountryMatters that]]'' have to do with anything?\\
'''Brian:''' No, I mean cancer.\\
'''Stewie:''' Oh, oh! Cancer, oh no!
* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': After accidentally damaging their bedroom wall in "The Power", Rigby grouses "Now, how in the ''H'' are we gonna fix this ''S''?" ''H'' is a recurring one in early episodes.
* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': The entire "G-wiz" episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/PerfectHairForever'' combined this with SoundEffectBleep by bleeping out any usage of the F-word with a guy yelling "EFF!"
* In ''WesternAnimation/WinnieThePoohSpringtimeWithRoo'', Rabbit doesn't want to hear the word "Easter." So at one point, Tigger tells Roo to not say "the E word."
* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "The Love God", Grunkle Stan shouts "What the H?" before getting hit on the head by [[VisualPun a giant letter "H"]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode "The Sensitive Male!", [[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock Jack Sheldon]] sings to Johnny about impressing women by getting in touch with his sensitive side:
-->''Sensitivity, sensitivity\\
Show that girl you really give a "D"''
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'' episode "Roller Coaster Dragon," after Wheezie finally finds a method that works for her to be patient, she comments that while she was doing it, she wasn't thinking about the roller coaster. Zak, shocked, comments that she "said the R word," but Wheezie brushes it off, saying that she just thought of another way to distract herself.

* In "Franklin and the Grump" on ''Literature/{{Franklin}}'', Mr. Groundhog invites Franklin into his home for cocoa after Franklin returns his container of cocoa mix that he had left behind while fleeing from folks that wanted him to either tell him that there's either going to be an early spring or more winter. Franklin promises not to TalkAboutTheWeather, but then notices Mr. Beaver's various meteorological instruments and comments that he "must know a lot about the weather," then covers his mouth and says that he forgot he wasn't supposed to talk about "the W-word." Mr. Beaver, however, says that he loves talking about the weather, it's just that he doesn't like everyone pestering him about Groundhog Day because there are always going to be those who don't like the answer they hear.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'': In the premiere episode "Going the Extra Milo", [[BornUnlucky Milo]] introduces himself to his new classmate Zack, saying that he has a reputation at his school for being "the J-word". Then a series of freak catastrophes lead to Milo and Zack getting chased down the block by a huge length of concrete pipe that nearly squashes them flat.
-->'''Zack:''' The J-word wouldn't happen to be "[[TheJinx jinx]]", would it?

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'': In an episode “Turtle Terminator”, Krang sends a robot that inflicts a BeamSpam attack on anything even remotely resembling a turtle. Including toys, balloons and even somebody uttering the word “turtle”. The turtles and [[IntrepidReporter April]] manage to draw this robot over to an abandoned amusement park where it can’t hurt any innocent bystanders. Unfortunately, April’s ditzy friend Irma is there too. April locates Irma and warns her to never use the “T-word” in here. [[LateToThePunchline Irma realizes what the T-word is, only when the robot starts raining blaster fire towards her]].

-->'''Wander:''' Is it another bee?!\\
'''Sylvia:''' Just the biggest B in the galaxy: Dominator!

"What, ''never?!"\\

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': "F-word!" [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20061107 (1)]], [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20080924 (2)]].

** Which gets a little confusing when they also use hyphens to mask the names of people. Mister F--- and Miss S--- are fairly hilarious.

* ''9 Chickweed Lane'': In a strip, one character claims to have "beat the s--- out of Colonel Horrocks." The rest of the word starting with S is obscured because a chair blocks that part of the speech bubble.

* One of Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}}'s category templates links to a whole alphabet of these.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

[[folder:Comedy]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Literature]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Music]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]

[[folder:Radio]]

[[folder:Other]]

[[folder:Theater]]

[[folder:Video Games]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]

[[folder:Real Life]]

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': The Japanese version has Nayuta saying [[ForeignCussWord "fuck you" in English]], which the English version changes to "eff of". The spelling is apparently to emphasize she's literally ''saying'' the letter out loud.

* In ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh: Springtime with Roo'', Rabbit doesn't want to hear the word "Easter." So at one point, Tigger tells Roo to not say "the E word."

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6764665/2/Harry-Potter-and-the-Children-of-Change Harry Potter and the Children of Change]]'' Draco Malfoy asks if Hermione is a Mudblood and Harry punches him in the nose.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11279476/7/A-Werewolf-and-a-Veela-Walk-Into-a-Pub A Werewolf and a Veela Walk Into a Pub]]'' Draco Malfoy ends up in the Weasleys' custody after his parents are arrested and begs Harry to convince Sirius to take him instead.

** Later in the movie when the boys mothers come to school, Kyle's mom asks if Kyle said "the S-word" and then when told no, she asks, with greater horror, "The F-word?!”

** The episode "The F Word" has the definition of the word changed to 1. An extremely annoying, inconsiderate person most commonly associated with Harley riders. 2. A person who owns or frequently rides a Harley.