> They were routinely used by the people drafting
> your US constitution, and publically so.
They're far older than that. `Shit', to give one example, is derived
(IIRC) from Anglo-Saxon[1]. Geoffrey Chaucer used it, and if *he* used
it, then it's probably English. Or was, in the 14th century...
... and it's probably usable in civilised company, too. Chaucer wrote
his stuff for aristocrats, including the then royal family. And `shiten'
was used in at least the Knight's Tale, one of the least racy in the
Canterbury Tales. (the Wife of Bath's Tale is, well... *cough* *cough*)
IMHO (without evidence) this `swearwords are bad' thing is just a
hangover of the Victorians. (And the equally depressing `swearwords are
all that need be in my vocabulary' attitude is a reaction to it. The
pendulum swings...)
In any case, `shit' is not profane, going by the most pedantic meaning
of the word. `Goddamn' and `blimey' *are* profane (they profane the
Christian God, to be precise... well, one of them does, and the other
asks for something which would be bloody stupid to ask for if God
existed and/or did what you asked for). `Shit', to give an example,
doesn't profane anything.
But I'm being excessively pedantic here so I'll shut up now.
[1] hence the sometime expression `his vocabulary is very Anglo-Saxon'.
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