Slap a Bloody Saltie on the Barbie

Quote:  "Where the bloody hell are you?" Slogan for Australian tourism campaign, in USA Today.

Figure of Speech: hysterologia (hys-ter-o-LO-gia), the preposition interrupter.

British censors have banned a TV ad welcoming them Down Under.  The offense isn’t the campaign’s bikini-clad women, or the "hell" (carefully lower-cased in the print ads), but the use of "bloody."  Once upon a time, the word referred to Jesus’ wounds on the cross.  

Now here’s where we get really word-wonky.  The hysterologia ("later speech") emphasizes a word by shoving it between a preposition and its object.  So where the bloody hell is the preposition in that sentence? "The hell" actually means "in hell," turning "the" into a preposition.

The moral is, if you want to add some zing to your profanity — and make bluenoses respond hysterically — cuss hysterologically.

Snappy Answer:  "I’m with you, mate."

 Other figures of interruption and rhythm.