Laura in New Bedford, Massachusetts, asks how offensive bloody is when her mother uses it as a swearish adjective, as in this bloody car won’t start. The force depends heavily on where you are: Jeffrey Hughes’s Encyclopedia of Swearing describes...
How did the first person to say a dirty word know it was a dirty word? Geoffrey Hughes’ Encyclopedia of Swearing is a great source on this. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The First Dirty Word” Hello, you have A...
What’s the one word that comes to mind when you hear the name J. D. Salinger? Masterpiece? Recluse? How about the F-word? An Indianapolis listener came across an article about Salinger’s use of that word, and that got him wondering about...