Forum: Author Hangout

I recall from the time of my hobbledehoyhood that the term 'profundity' was employed as a genteel euphemism for a profanity or swear word. I've been scouring the interweb and old hardcopy dictionaries but can find no evidence to corroborate my recollection. Can anyone else remember this usage (British English, some half a century ago)?

ETA: Oops, I should have marked this as off-topic as I don't expect to use it in a story.

AJ

From my personal experience, I've never heard it used in that context. Instead, "profundity" refers to content (insightful and focused). However, you could use "profound" in that context as the words are indeed, more profound than the milder "dern it!" Despite the same root, the two words mean entirely different things.