The History of Swearing

I don’t curse much anymore in real life. Probably because my non-swearing husband has had quite the influence on me, but also because, in my opinion at least, cussing usually detracts more than it adds to whatever one is expressing. Unless you kick a shopping cart, or a table, or a chair, or any stationary damage-inducing object, with your toe. Then anything goes. 

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Picture courtesy of Salon article

And I do have two children, whom I’m trying to persuade that using foul language doesn’t make them sound cooler, even if all their friends are doing it. I’ll let you know if that works for long, but so far the biggest insults we hear around here are “Darn it!”, “Barnacles!” and “In your FACE!”, even though I know for a fact the 12-year-old is quite familiar with some off-limits vocabulary.

However, for writing purposes surely it’s useful to know what kind of bawdy expressions and curse words were in use in the Regency period, right?

So here’s an article from Salon.com on the history of swearing that I discovered via a Facebook post from Regency romance author Sabrina Jeffries.

You’re welcome.

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