EXPLETIVES The following class of words contains various exclamations most commonly referred to as expletives or 'colorful metaphors'. These words are essentially the same as what are called profanities or 'cuss words' in Galactic/English. It should be noted that although the use of these words is quite commonplace in Klingonaase, in most other languages such words and phrases are looked upon as crude and uncivilized. Appropriately enough, these words often do not follow known rules of order for noun and verb structures, and can actually use noun and verb parts that have completely different meanings when used separately or in other sentences. On that important note, the student of Klingonaase should keep in mind that certain similar insults from those other language can actually translate in to Klingonaase as a compiment of sorts! One notable and somewhat 'cleaner' example is the mid-20th century insult 'your mother's Army boots', which most Klingons (especially the Daqawlu', who support a unisex military) would take as high praise of one's linneage! Regardless of the language used, these words should be used carefully, sparingly, and with appropriate taste. Of course, Klingons naturally do not follow such guidelines. General ghaghnIy (Damned.) (ghagh-ney) qeylIs qeySe ("Kahless' hand," an oath referring to the story of the (Kah-less kayshe)Emperor Kahless, who died with his hand tied to the controls of his ship in a battle against Romulans.) qerQ (A screw-up.) (kerx) humanay quveSt' (Either "human slave" or "slave of the humans.") (humanai kuvest) joHwIj (My lord (derogatory).) (jokh-wij) epetaI' (Old fool.) (e-pe-tahi) Rumaiym QI'yaH (Assume a military duty station - a low, menial (kri-yakh) position is implied here, such as janitorial duty.) ghuy'cha' (second born - this insult takes on two (ghooey-cha) different relative meanings, depending on the dialect of the object of the phrase. In Rumaiym, this implies that the object is younger than his sister, a very strong Rumaiym taboo since the first-born MUST be a male. In Klingonii/Klinzhaii, this can mean that either the object has no true lineage, or the object's acting father, who's consort is the object's mother, is not the object's real father. In the Da-qawlu dialect, this can mean all of the above, as well as stating that the object is of a lesser race than the speaker.) Qu'vatlh (literally, perform a hundred missions. As in (kru-vatl) QI'yaH the inference is towards a duty station or task that is considered meanial or below their status. It is similar to the English insult/order 'drop and do a hundred push-ups'. In Kumburan, wIjngan and Daqawlu dialects, this takes on quite a different meaning, as it is primarily an insult that is directed towards either a female object, or towards the object's female parent. The implication in that case is that the female is one who 'sleeps around' with quite a number of males. The common Galactic/English translation is a prostitute or 'hooker'.) Qu'vatlh (Half-slave; an insult. Klingons mix races freely, (kru-vatl) but have cultural prejudices against some.) yoH'Ha'qu' (Traditional phrase calling the object a coward. A (yokh-kha-ku) literal translation reads 'very unbrave'. This is a traditional challenge between two Rumaiym before a Blood Duel, but is considered a general insult towards any Rumaiym when used by a speaker of another dialect, which can also result in a Blood Duel.) Klingonii/Klinzhaii Q'eSt (all-purpose expletive. This can be translated into (kr-esht) several phrases. For example, it can be translated into the English expletive for consummation of the sex act, as well as the modification of that term to describe either a major error on the behalf of a living object, or a major malfunction on the part of a non-living device.) Q'eSt'at (Variation of Q'eSt. Although this usually (kr-esht-at) refers to a device that is in a rapidly disintegrating state of performance, when coupled with the words Quv' or Quv'let'a' , it can be used as an insult towards the object's female parent. That insult takes the forms Quv'q'- est'at and Quv'let'est'at, respectively.) QeSt'n (Apparently interchangable adjectives, roughly equal (kr-esht-n) to "damned.") QeSt'at (kr-esht-at) parQeSt (Damn!) (par-kresht) QeStereQ tlhath (Screwed up situation.) (khest-er-ex thath) toQe'Human'Stra'v (to-kre-khu-man-shtra-v) (willing slave of a . This is one of the most vilest insults a Klingon can say to another Klingon. According to legend, the civil war of General Kagga (who's crown was branded to his head before his execution) was sparked by then-Emperor Kahar's issuance of this insult over the General's failure to defeat the Federation forces at the battle of Donatu-5. This, according to many schollars of the '5-year's war' between the two 'Empires' is what diverted enough of the Klingons' attention to enable the Federation to regain enough ground to force the Empire to accept a negotiated truce.) toQe'Stra'v (Willing slave. Just about the worst insult one can (to-kre-shtra-v)call a Klingon.) gh'Day't (a curse of damnation. This is another (gh-die-t) all-purpose expletive, with the object referred to as being damned. While this does not usually imply that a deity is being invoked, in Rumaiym usage it does. In such use, the name of the deity relaces the letter t, and possesses the noun suffix -vo. In reference to anything or anyone else, the t is often kept, and the object of the curse follows as a separate word. In Klingonii/Klinzhaii dialect, the gh' is often pronounced as a rather harsh 'guh' with heavy emphasis on the glottal stop.) gh'Day't (Undefined adjectives (gerunds?), roughly equivalent (gh-die-t) to "damned," but probably stronger.) gh'Day'a (gh-die-a)