by the omission of a swear word

[Peter Jiong]

[FONT=&quot]Mrs. Mayston Ryle was a specialist in the clerical anecdote; she successively related the story of Bishop Thorold and his white hands, the story of Bishop Wilberforce and the bloody shovel. (This somewhat shocked the ladies, but Mrs. Mayston Ryle could not spoil her point by the omission of a swear word.)[/FONT]

From Mrs. Craddock (set in the late 19th century) by W Somerset Maugham

What does the underlined part mean？

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Re: by

The punch-line wouldn't be funny without the swear word. So she used it and shocked the ladies.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: by

"Bloody" was a swear word in Britain at the time except when used literally to mean "covered with blood".

 

[Rover_KE]

I've improved upon your extremely laconic thread title.