Chamblee54

This content was published May 29, 2012. … There is a lively feature today, A brief history of four letter words. It deals with the evolution of profanity. HT to Andrew Sullivan. Examples will be used in this feature. If such language offends you, please skip the text, and enjoy the pictures.
“Golly! Zounds! Gadzooks! These are the kind of things Captain Marvel would say. Almost any other superhero would be too mature for such, childish silly words. And yet, during Shakespeare’s time, they made him one of the more edgy writers out there. They’re not just random sounds, but contractions, meant to make absolutely shocking sentiments less outright obscene. Golly, zounds, and gadzooks were, in order, God’s body, God’s wounds, and God’s hocks.”
The body of God, or Jesus, is a big deal to some varieties of Christians. When Shakespeare was in business, it was even more so. Religious profanity is less and less explosive, as bumper sticker’s about God’s last name might indicate. When Europe was fighting wars about the best way to worship, this talk about Godfrey Daniels was explosive.
The third commandment refers to the proper use of sacred names. It’s application is in the ear of the beholder. I think that a “Pledge of Allegiance” to a flag is not the proper use of a holy name. And I am notoriously non Christian.
The Whisper of the River is about a “raised right” young man who goes to college. A yankee neighbor says “good God a mighty”. The raised right young man calls him out about “using the name of the Lord in vain”. I used to work with an obnoxious “Pastor” who was fond of shouting GGAM.
Some people think they are being righteous by not using certain words. The truth is that profanity is a social standard. God has better things to worry about than what words people use to describe procreation. All of the Carlin seven appear in the Bible, in one of the many languages used.
Bitch and ass are two words that used to refer to animals. “Ass is actually two words blended together to become an obscenity. Ass, the swear word, started out as irs, which meant the back end of anything, not just animals. It became arse, and eventually rounded out and emerged as an ass. … Bitch started out as a female dog in breeding condition. From there its meaning expanded to anything female in breeding condition, and eventually it expanded to become promiscuous, angry women … or anything “especially disagreeable.” Sliding between the slightly sexual, the slightly referring to sexuality, and the literal meaning of the word got bitch into general conversation, and most television shows. It also helps that being “especially disagreeable,” rather than meek and accommodating has become a point of pride for both women and male homosexuals, and so even at its most insulting, the word has lost the power to shock as society has moved on.”
Both bitch and ass have become more acceptable. Ass is frequently attached to hole, which describes a (hopefully) functioning body part. This word is a serious insult. Names for genitalia also function, with remarkable versatility, as cuss words.
At the start of the Carlin seven is piss and shit. These were created using onomatopoeia … a word that sounds like what it describes. They refer to excretion, both as noun and verb. Excrete is seldom used as profanity, even though it means the same thing. As time goes down the toilet, both piss and shit have acquired multiple meanings.
Which brings us to the F bomb. It is similar to the German Ficken or the Dutch Fokken. It almost certainly is NOT an acronym. Technically it is not one of the Carlin seven. If it is, then mother is a super cussword. With a profitable holiday in May, mother will always be said on television.
There is a popular naughty word with six letters. It *triggers* people. If Mr. Carlin had used this word in his monolog, his career would have ended. This word was used by Mark Twain. It is used today by millions of people. Many people who use this word are described by it. Our culture might be better off without this word, but America is stuck with it.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture was taken “between 1896 and 1901”.“U.S.S. Brooklyn, “Hogan’s Alley”” These men swore like sailors.
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah