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Profanity

A man poses for the camera with his hands over his mouth in this stock photo

When ‘oh, fudge’ won’t do: Researchers find benefits to swearing

Language

Researchers at the Swear Lab at Keele University in the UK have found that swearing can actually increase a person’s pain tolerance.

Tulips and a windmill

Damn coronavirus! How the Dutch use diseases as curse words.

Language
Col. Todd Wood, then commander of 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, talks with soldiers at FOB Masum Ghar in Kandahar province, Afghanistan in 2011.

Seven words and phrases used by soldiers that we could all learn from

Culture
The Russian film "Da i Da" ("Yes and Yes") directed by Valeria Gai Germanika

Russian curses are inventive, widely-used — and banned

Culture

Swear words shift meaning, importance over time

Global Politics

British town bans curse words

Residents of Barnsley, England, can be fined up to $130 for swearing on the street.

How To Swear Like Shakespeare

On yesterday’s show, we looked at the evolution of swearing over the past 75 years–from the days when “damn” first appeared on the big screen in “Gone with the Wind,” to the present day when the “F-word” is routinely written into basic cable shows. It’s a conversation that ruffled many feathers. Dozens of you wrote […]

British Town Says No To Dirty Words

Conflict & Justice

A town in England goes after people who swear and use foul language in public.

The World

Is it your constitutional right to swear?

Conflict & Justice

As part of a settlement in a federal free-speech lawsuit, state police in Pennsylvania have agreed to stop citing citizens for using bad language.

The World

Should we use !@#$ curse words more?

Arts, Culture & Media

These days, we’re hearing profanity from the mouth of an 11-year-old girl in a box office hit and from the Vice President of the United States. Is cursing becoming more acceptable? Would it be less offensive if we all cussed more?