Attention all UK ers!

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Is okay to say bloody when it's literally something covered in blood, like "My finger was all bloody when I accidentally cut it with a knife"?

It used to be quite straight forward in the UK. If it was pre-2100hrs, or 'the watershed', you could only get away with word such as 'bloody'. After 2100hrs, especially if you were on BBC2 or Channel 4, you could say pretty much anything except 'cu*t'.

Derek and Clive were an exception to this rule. I'm not sure if this was broadcast without censorship or editing and was an audio recording only (I think).

The rules are a lot less simple these days. Armando Iannucci and his glorious creation, 'The thick of it', for example was the epitomy of no holds barred TV. I'm not sure if this was sold around the world, but it was a political comedy that had a character called Malcolm Tucker. He was a spin doctor who coincidentally went on to play another famous doctor by the name of Who. His character used swearing in the most creative and expressive way possible (being Scottish helped, as the accent seems to lend itself to creative language). Including the word cu*t (which seems to be the ultimate swear word for some reason and Humans can get very upset about this)

Since then, swearing has started to creep in all over the place before the watershed. It seems to depend on the channel. 'Dave' will often censor very mild language even after midnight, whereas The News Quiz on Radio 4 at 1830hrs can get away with sh*t and bast**d.

As with many things in life, we seem to be more able to judge words and actions in the context of intention. I suppose it's akin to nudity. A naked black and white image in a gallery is fine, but the same image in colour on page three of a 'newspaper' is soft porn.

Words that mean different things in different parts of the world are another can of worms. Marge Simpson often asks Bart and and Lisa if they have their Fanny packs. In the U.K. a fanny pack conjures up something else altogether.

Humans, delightfully complicated.

Brits swear all the time, I don't know anyone who doesn't swear in every other sentence. Probs why censorship isn't that bad here, no one really cares from what I can see apart from old or snobby people usually. My go to is usually bollocks, w*ker or bellend. You learn to automatically switch to no swearing in certain situations though.

I think as a nation were pretty laid back on being sweary and blunt, at least in my city anyway. Them stinky Londoners have stick up their arses.