then wish you'd turn into a pumpkin

when I was little, there was a time I picked up a curse - "go to hell".  My parents sat me down for a serious talk. They told me that if someone is truly bad, you don't need to curse them. Instand, say something else. So whenever I felt like saying "go to hell", I was told to say, "I wish you'd turn into a pumpkin" instead.