Vargr exclamations/idioms

[Prodromoi]

I'm juggling some ideas for exclamations/dialogue which would sound natural for a Vargr. The kind of thing that we all say, often without even thinking, or realising. The kind of verbal "placeholder" or automatic response that pops up now and then in almost everybody's speech, one way or another. Often it's a learned response, picked up when we're young, and is then programmed deep in the brain.

The sort of thing I'm looking at are the equivalents of when a 'present day' human would say something like:

"For Pete's sake"
"For God's sake"
"Lord help me"
"My God!"

The religious roots of these are very obvious, and want to distance from that, and am working on some ideas to replace that, while keeping the same sort of expectation of usage - with a Vargr spin. (Whether from the Vargr Extents, or an Imperium Vargr.)

Happy to hear any (sensible!) suggestion.

 

[Condottiere]

Religious based expletives would depend on what culture the Vargr grew up in.

He could be Mormon, in which case, he wouldn't.

 

[G'Naakbusters]

Hmmm... maybe "Pelts!", shorthand for "Pelts of my ancestors..."?

 

[Geir]

Think scents, too. Like "Well sniff my butt and call me crazy!"

 

[CordwainerFish]

"Well dip me in flea powder!"

 

[Prodromoi]

Hmmm... maybe "Pelts!", shorthand for "Pelts of my ancestors..."?

Oh that's fun. I like that.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

Yippee-ki-yay, m...

 

[Condottiere]

Well, skin me alive.

 

[boggo2300]

I suspect most Vagr communication for things like that would be non-verbal, like the cant of the ears, and the angle they hold their tails

 

[Condottiere]

 

[swordtart]

Way back even hinting at the deity was considered blasphemy so it was shortened even further 'swounds and 'struth. These would be equally applicable whatever the deities name was.

"...for the love of Andrex!"

"call me a bad boy"

"go, eat grass"

"go chase/sniff your tail"

Most hard expletives would be a a string of consonants with plenty of K's or maybe barks as they are satisfyingly plosive.

 

[ottarrus]

Lessee....
General exclamations:
- You could use a random batch of Gvegh syllables for [insert curse words here] situations.
- Oh for Chosen's sakes... [Church of the Chosen Ones]
- As useless as chasing tails
Insults:
- Inferring the listener had mange [any kind of skin problem would be an issue with all fur bearing mammals]
- 'Go chase your ball, pup!'
- 'Pinkie' [referring to humans in general]
- 'Mind-sniffer' [referring to Zhodani]

 

[Prodromoi]

Lessee....
General exclamations:
- You could use a random batch of Gvegh syllables for [insert curse words here] situations.
- Oh for Chosen's sakes... [Church of the Chosen Ones]
- As useless as chasing tails
Insults:
- Inferring the listener had mange [any kind of skin problem would be an issue with all fur bearing mammals]
- 'Go chase your ball, pup!'
- 'Pinkie' [referring to humans in general]
- 'Mind-sniffer' [referring to Zhodani]

Nice options. A couple there are very close to ideas I've been toying with.

 

[Condottiere]

There is that one for female dog.

 

[G'Naakbusters]

There is that one for female dog.

Which makes me wonder how that translates.

I can see some Solomani thinking they're clever and using it as a stealth insult -- until the Vargr catch on.

Although for all we know (or decide), Vargr have words to distinguish monkeys that they use as insults in the same way, and scratch their head over how it translates to human.

"Your father was a [[man]]!"

 

[Condottiere]

The Eldar could say it's antique French, for my friend.

Mon keih.

 

[Condottiere]

"Keigh" can refer to a surname, a town in England, or a word used in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. As a surname, it is of English origin, likely related to place names meaning "woodland clearing". It can also be a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Li. In the Warhammer 40,000 setting, "mon-keigh" is a pejorative term used by the Aeldari to refer to inferior species, most often humans. Keighley is also a town in West Yorkshire, England.


Or, all humans are referred to as keigh.

My human.

 

[ottarrus]

Which makes me wonder how that translates.

I can see some Solomani thinking they're clever and using it as a stealth insult -- until the Vargr catch on.

Although for all we know (or decide), Vargr have words to distinguish monkeys that they use as insults in the same way, and scratch their head over how it translates to human.

"Your father was a [[man]]!"

'It's not my Goddamn planet. Understand, monkey boy?'
- John Bigboote "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension"

 

[Prodromoi]

'It's not my Goddamn planet. Understand, monkey boy?'
- John Bigboote "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension"

Definitely have already taken... inspiration... from that quote!

 

[CordwainerFish]

"Your mother mates out of season!"