A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo term to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. Some examples include "gosh" for God, "darn" for damn, and "heck" for Hell.
Many languages have such expressions. In the English language, nearly all profanities have minced variants.
Read more about Minced Oath: Formation, History, Acceptability, Literature and Censorship, Examples
Famous quotes containing the word oath:
“It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath.”
—Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.)