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According to the Oxford dictionary, shit is defined as "(i) Faeces, (ii) Something worthless; rubbish; nonsense", whereas crap is defined as "(i) Something of extremely poor quality, (ii) Excrement". In addition, to me as a non-native speaker, those carry the same meaning when used in the following sentences:

This book is crap.
This book is shit.

While neither are to be used in polite conversation ("This book is worthless" would be more appropriate), which of the two words is more rude?

Sardathrion - against SE abuse
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    Profanity is perfectly on topic and acceptable here. :) –  May 12 '14 at 07:14
  • Not only that, but neither crap nor shit are slang. Slang is "very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language, as Hit the road." Shit and crap are the exact opposite of slang. – ЯegDwight May 12 '14 at 09:13
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    I am migrating this to ELL because any native speaker will easily identify crap as a euphemism for shit, and as such less rude by definition. – ЯegDwight May 12 '14 at 09:15
  • @user1068446 - True, but technically the terms under discussion are scatology. Bad language is generally divided into three categories: profanity (uses religious terms), obscenity (refers to sex) and scatology (refers to bodily waste). – WhatRoughBeast Oct 08 '15 at 22:23
  • @ЯegDwight honestly, as a native (American English) speaker, I find them both to be equally rude and offensive swear words...I don't see one as being any more so than the other. – 40XUserNotFound Oct 09 '15 at 01:51
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    @Cupcake you can say "crap" on TV. End of story. – ЯegDwight Oct 09 '15 at 10:04

6 Answers6

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I view shit as a swear word, crap as a rude word and poo (poop) as a word suitable for children to use. Shit always seems to be a bit of an Americanism to me which weakens its impact a little for my ears, rather like an Englishman calling someone a motherfucker. It just doesn't sound right; it's like listening to a non-native speaker swearing in English, it doesn't convey the feeling.

I would also add that shite is a stronger word in my profanisaurus.

In order of 'sweariness'

That book was shite
That book was shit
That book was crap
That book was poo (poop)

ЯegDwight
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Frank
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    In decreasing order of sweariness, you mean? If so, I agree other than to swap the first two. –  May 12 '14 at 07:43
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    @Poldie Yes, decreasing order of sweariness. In my opinion shite is much stronger that shit when used as an offensive term in British English. –  May 12 '14 at 07:49
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    No, shite is a polited form of shit. – Andrew Leach May 12 '14 at 07:56
  • @AndrewLeach I did say it's my opinion but I'd rather be called An old shit than An old shite any day of the week; it would lead me to believe that the speaker wasn't as tough as they want to appear and I'd beat the living shite out of them with my cane. –  May 12 '14 at 08:04
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    Surely these rankings are largely subjective. FWIW, I've always ranked 'crap' as 'worse' than 'shit', which appears in the KJV. – Edwin Ashworth May 12 '14 at 08:04
  • @EdwinAshworth Yes, they are completely subjective, but the OP wanted a ranking so I gave him mine. It's a bit like God damn it and Gosh darn it. I don't find religious terms offensive at all and those two are equally as bland as each other, but I know people who wouldn't be happy to hear me say 'christ on a bike', the same way I prefer shite over shit when I want to be offensive (maybe I'm not offending people as much as I could though if the majority think shit is more offensive than shite). –  May 12 '14 at 08:14
  • I'm from England, and shite always sounds like a Scottish version. It's certainly imported from somewhere, and not something I ever heard growing up. –  May 12 '14 at 08:22
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    @Poldie I'm not sure we can import anything from Scotland unless and until they choose independence. And I think we should avoid shite; N Sea gas is OK. – Edwin Ashworth May 12 '14 at 08:26
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    @Frank Questions that are/turn out to prompt only overly subjective answers are off-topic. Your 'completely subjective' has prompted my close vote (though when you think about it, labelling a question 'calls for opinions rather than factual answers' is also subjective). – Edwin Ashworth May 12 '14 at 08:31
  • @EdwinAshworth Well I think that's a pretty shit thing to do, almost verging on shite. No, seriously, had it been shit or poo then there would be almost total agreement, with two words so close together on the 'sweariness' scale there's never going to be a consensus. However, when measuring on the (newly invented probably) Simpson Scale, Bart has used the word crap but I don't believe he has ever used the word shit. –  May 12 '14 at 08:44
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    As an American English speaker, I consider both "shit" and "crap" to be swear words. – 40XUserNotFound Oct 09 '15 at 01:54
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Perceptions may well have been influenced over the last 20 years or so by so influential a figure as B Simpson using the word 'crap' freely, as Frank mentions. Perhaps there are regional differences in taboo-ranking; Collins reflects my perception (in the UK) that 'crap' is the more taboo. (AHD doesn't differentiate wrt degree of tabooness.) From previous contributions here, the general situation in the US seems to be the opposite. But subjectiveness is unavoidable in these areas.

shit

AHD: shit Vulgar Slang

Collins: [no warning tag]

crap

AHD: crap 1 Vulgar Slang

Collins: Usage: This word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary. However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use

Edwin Ashworth
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Crap is generally considered more acceptable than shit.

Erik Kowal
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To me, your second example is more rude. According to Ngram it is also the most used.

Mr. Black
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While degrees of offensiveness are hard to quantify, and YMMV, I'd argue that "crap" is less offensive than "shit", for a purely practical reason. There exists a widespread and popular dice game called "craps", and its use serves to keep "crap" from becoming an entirely offensive word.

WhatRoughBeast
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'Crap' derives from the name of Mr Thomas Crapper, the Victorian sanitary engineer who developed the then existing flushing water closet. And whilst 'crap' is less offensive as a term for excrement than 'shit', it is still not something one uses in polite company.

WS2
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    Sorry, that myth was busted... it is an amusing reference though :) – oerkelens May 12 '14 at 07:20
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    I'm afraid the Crapper story is, well... crap. See the discussion at http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=18793 –  May 12 '14 at 07:23
  • @oerkelens If you and Erik Kowal will insist on paying attention to the 'crap' on the internet you will continue to be misinformed. There is an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (a very reliable source) by an accredited historian, namely Anita McConnell, which indicates that though TC may not have built the original WC he was a leading developer and improver of the system and his name is the undoubted etymology of 'crap' and 'crapper'. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55389 – WS2 May 12 '14 at 07:34
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    Thomas Crapper born 1836, first reference to crap 1846 in the OED apparently as 'crapping ken'; an outside toilet. I think we can stop all this crap now. :) –  May 12 '14 at 07:44
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    Well, if Anita McConnell explains how Mr.Crap at the tender age of ten gave rise to his name being used in this way, both the accredited historian and the OED (not the lowliest of references I'd think) can still both be right :) – oerkelens May 12 '14 at 07:47
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    @WS2 - Perhaps you'd care to refute the information in the debunking instead of simply behaving like a toddler who has been refused cake. –  May 12 '14 at 07:47