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In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth's famous cry "Out, damned spot!" was changed to "Out, crimson spot!" This is a commonly quoted example of Bowdler's butchering of The Bard, but this is not changed in Bowdler's edition; "Out, damned spot!" is retained as in the original. Here is the source for that particular Bowdlerization "On page 382 of the Bulfinches’ Shakespeare Adapted for Reading Classes: “Lady M. Out, crimson spot!”" See Ross E. Davies, "How Not to Bowdlerize" for the details and full references: http://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/publications/working_papers/09-05%20How%20Not%20to%20Bowdlerize.pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.42.254.157 (talk) 23:29, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
Excised (!) from the article:
No, that would only be the case if we were to try to produce a version of, say, Debbie Does Dallas, that was suitable for children, rather than simply trying to stop children from seeing it. (Precisely what was done on the sadly short-lived program, "Good Clean Porn," [2] on the sadly short-lived Trio channel.)
The former is Bowdlerization, the latter simple censorship. Producing an expurgated version and banning the original would be both.
Sorry, just moved it to its appropriate location. --The Cunctator
I'm sure the answer is no, but is there an antonym to "Bowdlerize" (i.e., a word that means somebody intentionally inserting offensive words or phrases into somebody else's work)? Jeff Silvers 08:25, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
Dyphemize ;)(or as our friend above would put it, dyphemise.) Shelby Davis (talk) 03:41, 27 February 2008 (UTC)
From the introduction - "For example replacing the word "f***" with "the f-word"". Although this is arguably mere censorship or euphemism rather than bowdlerization, I don't think that doing it twice in the same sentence is really necessary. Shall we have the more illustrative "...replacing the word "fuck" with "the f-word"" instead? Tevildo 17:36, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
Under this heading there is currently only one example, and it is not particularly illustrative of the changes Bowdler made. Does anyone know where to find some better examples?--Shantavira 13:50, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Are there any more examples that could be added? I know it's been 12 years since this comment was posted, but Bowdler did a lot more of interest than the couple things listed. Kkukucka (talk) 23:30, 3 November 2018 (UTC)
How is the verb pronounced? Neither this article nor the wikitionary entry on the word discusses pronounciation, and I'm curious and unsure. -Fsotrain09 04:18, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
I removed the following section, as it doesn't relate to Bowdler:
==Famous Bowdlerised quotes==
jnestorius(talk) 00:31, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
Balderdash was a means of stopping Carbon Dioxide in fizzy drinks destroying the bottles when opened. Where you will find this on the World Wide Net I do not know 17:48, 15 December 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.40.208.160 (talk)
I believe the Algernon Swinburne quote may be facetious check his bio. Datacharge 15:32, 12 May 2007 (UTC)
jnestorius, you probably know more about this than I, (as you appear to have a physical copy of "Studies..." in your possession?) but I'm not sure that the fact that Swinbure was a respected lit. critic (conceded) and read the Bowlder ed. as a child (I'll take your word for it) necessarily indicates that he wasn't being facetious. Could you flesh out the background a bit? It just seems so unlike a decadent to approve prudery, you know? Shelby Davis (talk) 22:30, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
This is a minor point, but I wouldn't call 'frack' the bowdlerization of 'fuck'. Bowdlerization refers to the excision of offensive material. This is really an example of taboo deformation or euphemism.
This article contains an error I wish someone would change. Bowlder hardly wrote to please a Victorian audience. He published his edition of Shakespeare twenty years before Victoria came to the throne. She wasn't even recognized as a potential heir to the throne at the time. The Regency era was not as stuffy as the Victorian era, as a general statement - but the Regency era had its own stuffy individuals and the Victorian era its own pornographers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.170.177.181 (talk) 14:46, 19 December 2009 (UTC)
The generally accepted pronunciation is that 'Bow' conforms as for the 'bow' of a ship, or 'bough' of a tree. But, quis custodet ipso custodes! Miletus (talk) 10:36, 9 January 2010 (UTC)
As a page about a British citizen, the page should be primarily written in British English per WP:ENGVAR. I've left the primarily American spelling (as pointed out in numerous edit summaries, it's also British English acceptable) but re-added the primary British English spelling in the lede as an alternative. Porphyro (talk) 22:59, 24 August 2022 (UTC)