Ohh, poo says nothing – it is expletive. Pointless. An utterance.

But an expletive does still say something though, in my opinion. It expresses an emotion.

I get this same nonsense from the missus. I moderated my language to avoid swearing, but I get pulled up for saying things like “Bloody hell” or “Damn”.

In my experience saying something like “I say Timothy. I seem to have trapped my fingers between this oily bicycle chain and the sharp teeth of this rather worn cassette. That really is frightfully painful.” doesn’t convey the same urgency or emotion – which means the expletive is actually better communication.

Okay, so I agree Graham, expletives are an integral part of our language.

Teaching that they are right to pre-school children is not necessary though. Do you not think?

In my experience saying something like “I say Timothy. I seem to have trapped my fingers between this oily bicycle chain and the sharp teeth of this rather worn cassette. That really is frightfully painful.” doesn’t convey the same urgency or emotion – which means the expletive is actually better communication.

erm what about Ow? or possibly Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh

I get the expressive point but there’s not much expression in Poo! Damn! or even ****socks! A deep breath may be a better reaction to frustration and a visceral scream for your actual physical pain

Teaching that they are right to pre-school children is not necessary though. Do you not think?

I don’t think they need to be taught actual swear words. But they do need to be taught about emotions – particular how to interpret and empathise with the emotions of other people.

erm what about Ow? or possibly Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh

Possibly a fair substitute in the finger/chain incident – but less so when expressing something like frustration or disappointment.