>As an example of how religion tries (and manages) to insert itself into all pores of the civilization it inhabits, I've tried to find an alternative to the common exclamation of surprise. In English, that is "ohmygod", or "OMG" online.
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>Can't find any. I actually can't remember if I ever heard any other outcry. May be a shortcoming of my memory, or there actually isn't any ("oh my goodness" doesn't count as different).
>
>Even in my own language, where there actually are multiple possible expressions of surprise, more than half of them are religion... related. The mildest one would be "god spread you" (as butter or jam), often abbreviated to just "bokte" (godyou).
>
>Does anyone know at least one such expression which isn't hijacked by religion?
It's Deja Vu time again! You've done this one before!
The Italians use "Porc e ma donna!" but not for use in polite company.
"'kin' 'ell!" is a common Brit expression.
Interestingly "Struth!" is a Cockney and Aussie expression (you often hear Crocodile Dundee say it) but this is a compaction of "God's truth!"
The Cockney and Aussie expression "Blimey" is short for "Gor blimey" which, again, is a compaction of "God blind me!"
So it is hard to escape the religious connotations.
How about the French "Zut alors!"?
- Whoever said that women are the weaker sex never tried to wrest the bedclothes off one in the middle of the night
- Worry is the interest you pay, in advance, for a loan that you may never need to take out.