Top Ten Tuesday - #!@#$ Edition

I recently have a friend remark that I have a, um, colorful vocabulary. Especially when it comes to curse (cuss) words. I have two little ones in the house, so believe me when I say that I try my hardest not to curse or yell anything inappropriate lest they become little mockingbirds. I remember when I was around fourteen and fifteen and I used to curse like a sailor (when out of earshot of my parents of course). Ah, back then I thought many things were cool. I was wrong about most of them, as it turns out. I find that I still have a sometimes penchant for strong words, but I've learned to switch them up. Here's some of my favorite, more colorful phrases:

10. Son of a pharaoh! This is my pretty standard response to when things go poorly, whether I've stubbed my big toe on the table again, or I've dropped the groceries or am just generally frustrated with a situation.

9. Oh for crying out loud...This one is usually reserved for the kids. It's for times when they've left their toys out in the yard again, or they're fighting..again (or still..sometimes it's hard to tell).

8. Well, schnikeys! A nice way to say, Well, crap. I figure crap isn't much better than its four letter S-word counterpart. I definitely don't want my toddler yelling about crap, so whenever I feel the urge to call a situation like the dung it is, I revert to schnikeys instead but really any unusual colorful word will do. You might also try, well, hoodlums! or well, galoshes! or another favorite of mine: well, muckluck! Not sure if that last one's a real word or not but it's loads of fun to say. Go on, give it a go.

7. Flippin' A nice inoffensive substitute for a similar F-word. Used as an adjective. Like, "that flippin' lady just pulled out without looking!" Usually only reserved in extreme cases where I'm caught unawares and have just the briefest of moments to PG rate my dialogue.

6. Good gravy. Good old Charlie Brown gave me this one. Well, technically he said good grief, but good gravy is just so much cooler. A phrase best used to express your particular frustration with a situation.

5. Holy guacamole! Rather than exclaiming that dung or crap is holy, it makes much more sense to claim that a certain green dip is saint-like. Don't you agree? Okay, maybe it makes no sense at all, but again, it's one of those phrases that's fun. I mean, who doesn't like to rhyme?

4. Bozo. A term of endearment for someone who's acting like a fool. This one I stole from my mother. She often reserved it for other drivers on the road, like those people that insist on tailgating or switching lanes without regard for the other cars. "Did you see that BOZO!"

3. Fiddlesticks! Again, an exclamation for frustration. This one I tend to reserve for when I personally do something silly like spill an entire box of spaghetti noodles on the floor.

2. Son of a biscuit-eater! A step up from Son of a Pharaoh. This is reserved for extreme cases of misfortune and I only just catch myself in time to lighten up my foul language.

1. Goofball. Another term of endearment for those acting silly. This one really is pretty harmless though and I catch myself calling my sons goofballs whenever they're in a particularly spunky or goofy mood.

So how do you avoid using the unmentionables when you're around young ears? Any silly phrases? Feel free to share them. I'm always looking to expand my vocabulary!

Linking up to Oh Amanda