a steaming load

15:22 Sep 23, 2015 

>As for how offensive "bullshit" is, I'd better defer to the opinion of American >colleagues. ...more often used and not as gross is the term "BS"

19:45 Sep 22, 2015 

Yes, of course, "a steaming load" on its own can be taken as a way of avoiding saying the offending word itself. My answer was simply intended as an explanation of how "a steaming load" comes to mean "nonsense": supplying the missing link, as it were. But I would say that "a steaming load" is a pretty robust expression and barely less strong than using the word itself, which everyone will think of when they hear it.

For "sugar" I'd probably use something like "ostras" or "jolín" in Spanish; it's really a bit twee. Of course you have to get the register right, but English-English questions are not so much about translation as explanation, or at least that's how I take them.

As for how offensive "bullshit" is, I'd better defer to the opinion of American colleagues. I may be understating it. It certainly must be and is classed as offensive, but it's very common, and I don't think it's one of the most offensive words one can use.

19:36 Sep 22, 2015 

No, I wasn't sure whether it would be approriate for the Asker's text. The fact it only says 'a steaming load' made me think 'bullshit' might be too much.

For example, if you had to translate 'sugar', which some people say when they don't want to say 'shit', what would you do?

I didn't know that 'bullshit' wasn't particularly offensive in the US.

19:27 Sep 22, 2015 

I know the feeling! As for the answer, it amounts to the same thing. Bullshit means rubbish or nonsense. When you say appropriate, do you mean sufficiently decorous for a public forum? I take the line that we are translators, words are our business, and we should not feel constrained in using them, for legitimate professional purposes, however rude they are. After all, if you're translating expletives you have to use equivalent expletives to do so. It would be quite another matter if I were to use "bullshit!" as a peer comment.

Actually bullshit, in American English, is vulgar but not outstandingly offensive, I would say; less so than "shit" on its own.

19:09 Sep 22, 2015 

I hummed and harred a bit before answering and then I was called away before I clicked on 'send'. I'm leaving my answer because I've offered a slightly different solution. I wasn't sure whether 'bulls**t' and 'cr*p' would be appropriate.