minced oath

[ minst ohth ]

noun

1. a word used in place of a swear word for the sake of politeness, often resembling the profane word or expression closely enough in sound and syllable structure that the substituted curse is still identifiable:

   He said, “Dash it!” a minced oath that did not offend those around him.

Word History and Origins

Origin of minced oath¹

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

According to The Washington Examiner, Cawthorn may have taken part in an alleged pump-and-dump scheme to boost the value of "Let's Go Brandon" cryptocurrency, a crypto meme coin named after a minced oath that actually means "F*ck Joe Biden."

From Salon

A GOP Senate candidate on Sunday ran a Super Bowl ad repeating the conservative political slogan "Let's Go Brandon" – a minced oath for "F*ck Joe Biden."

From Salon

The accusation then prompted multiple members of the crowd to shout, "Let's Go Brandon," a minced oath for "F*ck Joe Biden."

From Salon

Mr Grieve’s maps for “gosh” in America show this “minced oath” to be popular not only in Mormon Utah, but in a contiguous region of the inland south, from Texas to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky.

From Economist

School administrators likewise appreciate that the most explicit dialogue in John Cariani’s PG-rated script is the minced oath “Jeezum Crow.”

From Washington Post