> What do some other cultures/languages swear by? (please forgive the sentence-ending preposition)

Spanish custom is defecating more than swearing and the standard swearing phrase is “I s**t on x”. You can replace the x for almost anything, mainly sacred items.
Among the most popular, and curious, are:
- Diez (The number 10). There are two theories about this, one of them is about the Ten Commandments and the other, and more plausible, is that it is an euphemism of “Dios” (God).
- La mar (The sea). Maybe is a shortening of “madre” (mother).
- La leche (The milk). With several variants, the milk they gave you, the milk you sucked.

We can also replace the x for a close relative of the offending object or person. “La madre que parió al martillo” (The mother who gave birth to this hammer) is one of the all time favorites.


Juan Maria.