The blog post explores the use of profanity in Mick Herron's Slough House novels, particularly through the character Jackson Lamb. It highlights how Lamb's unique use of swear words serves as a linguistic tool that reveals charact...
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The blog post explores the unique use of profanity through infixing and interposing in the Slough House novels by Mick Herron. It highlights how characters like Jackson Lamb and Shirley Dander employ these linguistic techniques to...
The blog post discusses the use of profanity in Mick Herron's Slough House novels, contrasting it with the Apple TV adaptation, Slow Horses. The author argues that while the show uses swearing in a reflexive manner, the novels emp...
'Freaking' serves as a euphemistic intensifier for 'fucking,' showcasing its versatility and cultural significance in language and media over the past century.
The blog post discusses a provocative advertising campaign by the cosmetics brand e.l.f., which uses the phrase 'DON’T GIVE A F#@&' to promote its products while emphasizing its commitment to social causes and diversity. The autho...
The text is a link roundup of various news stories related to swearing and cursing. It includes studies on swearing robots, ancient Romans, Australians' swearing habits, and the swearing habits of Americans and Brits. It also feat...
0Swearing as a rite of passage
2025-05-29 • profanity rite of passage
The text discusses swearing as a rite of passage, using a scene from the film Hope and Glory to illustrate how swearing played a central role in a child's initiation into a group of peers during wartime in London.
0Serving Kant
2025-05-23 • controversies lyrics regulations feminine expression punishment
The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest saw controversy over the lyrics of Malta's entry 'Serving,' originally titled 'Kant,' due to the similarity of the word to a vulgar term. The song is an anthem of feminine power and the pun is inte...
0“Smut”
2025-04-09 • music history classic literature political satire public domain censorship smut
Tom Lehrer, a musician, mathematician, and songwriter, is the creator of nearly 100 satirical songs. His song 'Smut' is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Lehrer studied piano and mathematics at Harvard College and pursued a PhD in...
Michael Erard's book 'Bye Bye I Love You' explores the story of first and last words, focusing on the linguistic, historical, and cultural aspects of our initial and ultimate speech acts. The book delves into the use of profanity ...
0Pornhub’s WOTY
2025-02-01 • language learning trend analysis statistics search global
Pornhub publishes an annual statistical analysis of its users, including top and trending search terms. The 2024 analysis revealed that hentai, MILF, and Pinay were among the top search terms. The analysis also showed trends relat...
The 10th Annual Tucker Awards for Excellence in Swearing celebrates the best swearing in various media, including film, television, music, sports, books, data analysis, and politics. The awards recognize the impact of swearing in ...
0REVIEW: Jesse Sheidlower’s The F-Word, 4th edition
2024-11-26 •
The blog post is a review of Jesse Sheidlower’s The F-Word, 4th edition. The author shares a personal anecdote about the word and discusses the extensive treatment of the word 'fuck' in the book. The post highlights the historical...
0What’s Your Favorite Swear Word?
2024-11-23 •
The author discusses the question of what is their favorite swear word and the implications of asking such a question. They explore the history of similar questions and the lack of insight provided by the answers.
0“Type shit”
2024-11-19 •
The post discusses the meaning of the slang term 'type shit' and its usage among Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The author explores the various contexts in which the term is used and attempts to decipher its meaning based on examples from R...
Jesse Sheidlower, a lexicographer, discusses the history of his book 'The F-Word', his research process, and the surprising reception to the book. He explains his interest in taboo words and the challenges of researching the word ...
The fourth edition of The F-Word, edited by Jesse Sheidlower, has been published by Oxford University Press. The new edition contains 504 pages, 150 new entries, 150 antedatings, and 2,500 new quotations. The book includes an expa...
0“Skippin’ like a dipshit”
2024-10-26 •
The blog post discusses the use of the word 'dipshit' in the context of the U.S. election season. It explores the history and popularity of the word, as well as its usage in literature, TV, and everyday language. The post also del...
0Rawdog it
2024-10-23 •
The blog post discusses the slang term 'rawdogging' and its evolution from a sexual term to a more general sense of doing anything difficult without creature comforts. It explores the etymology of the term and its recent popularit...
0Trump’s Shit Speech. Or Was It Shitty?
2024-10-23 •
The author discusses the use of the words 'shit' and 'shitty' in American English, and how they have made their way from British English. The author also explores the difference between 'crap' and 'crappy' and how they are used. T...
0“Couch-fucker”
2024-08-03 •
The blog post discusses the origin and spread of the term 'couch-fucker' in relation to U.S. Senator JD Vance, debunking false claims and exploring the history of similar terms in politics and slang. The post delves into the humor...
0What kind of “fuckery” is this?
2024-06-30 •
The blog post explores the various meanings and uses of the word 'fuckery', ranging from its origins in brothels to its figurative and modern-day uses. The post delves into the different contexts in which the word is used, includi...
0Pope Francis said a rude thing
2024-05-29 •
Pope Francis used an anti-gay slur during a meeting with bishops, sparking controversy. The word he used, 'frociaggine,' was translated as 'faggotry' in English. The post explores the origin of the slur and how it has been transla...
0Sick fuckin’ bag, dude
2024-05-11 •
The blog post discusses the use of disease names as swearwords in Dutch language, focusing on the phrase 'sjouw me de tering' which translates to 'schlep myself to consumption'. The post explores the historical origins and cultura...