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Someone from the UK suggested I use bloodied instead of bloody do describe objects/people that are covered with blood. (Because bloody could be mistaken by the curse.)

Is this a good suggestion? Example sentence:

I pull out the meat from the fridge and carry it to the bloody kitchen table.

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    I'd have chosen a less strange example, but I wouldn't be so precious as to avoid using 'bloody' where appropriate.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Feb 16, 2017 at 2:01
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    I think it would depend on the context as to whether I would read that as a swear word or not. Out of context my default reading of it is the swear word.
    – Chris M
    Commented Feb 16, 2017 at 3:53
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    Even though I'm American and I don't even use "bloody" as a curse, the word "bloody" in your example sentence is confusing because I wouldn't expect a table to be bloody before having meat put on it. (Maybe after.) But I would expect UK as well as American speakers to speak of e.g. "bloody knives", and I see no reason to replace that phrase with "bloodied knives". If you must avoid "bloody" I think "blood-covered" might sound better than "bloodied" as a substitute in some cases.
    – herisson
    Commented Feb 16, 2017 at 5:03
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    There's a possibility of I interpreting it along the lines of "that bloody kitchen table that always wobbles when I chop meat". But it's unlikely. If you described it as "already bloody" you would deal with the surprise @sumelic referred to. Also unless followed by "late", "annoyed" etc., "already bloody" weakens the hint of the (very mild) curse. Calling it a butchers' block instead would have a similar effect.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 16, 2017 at 8:18
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    @sumelic Yes, or bloodstained if the blood has dried. Blood-covered, to me implies it's still wet. Bloodied seems most often to be used to describe a person or animal covered in blood as a result of injury or combat, but not an inanimate object. Bloody may be a mild curse-word but it's hard to avoid the connotation - a bit like trying to use damned in its literal sense.
    – Charl E
    Commented Feb 16, 2017 at 10:38

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"Bloody" is more common as an adjective (in both UK and U.S.), while "bloodied" often takes the verb form...in this case past perfect continuous tense, as in a kitchen table that had been bloodied. Based on your example sentence and stated interest in description, my vote is for "bloody." Even if your audience is culturally habituated to the British colloquialism (which is technically not a curse word but an adverb/intensifier), I doubt there would be much confusion when reading the term in context. Bloody up that text then! Once it's been bloodied there's not much you can do anyway.

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