Oh, Shoot

Last week I noticed the Dutch use the word shit a lot. I had noticed it before, but not to the same extent, limiting themselves to the occasional jovial use every now and again. Last week, however, as someone was repeating it in a little mantra after making a mistake, one of my English colleagues, who has lived in the Netherlands for some time, pointed out that she still finds it strange. In the UK and, I believe, the US, it’s considered a fairly strong swear word, but to the Dutch is seems far more similar to Damn, or maybe something even softer. Kids and teachers say shit for example. Just another one of those things that is slightly different to back home.