In Praise of Profanity

While some would claim that these times (especially in this period leading up to the U.S. presidential election) are particularly crass and vulgar, and that the pervasiveness of profanity is indicative of an immoral society, linguist Adams (English language & literature, Univ. of Indiana; Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon) offers a cogent and highly readable treatise defending it. Building on Timothy Jay's Why We Curse, Adams's work takes readers on a rich ride through history and culture on the value of swearing. From William Dunbar and John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester to a long disquisition on the significance of cursing in the television series The Sopranos, Adams argues that bad language is "good for us" because it helps people connect with one another and enables us to "do things we need or want to do." There is plenty of profanity in this short text—most extensively about the word "fuck." The author and some of his linguist colleagues conclude that the perfect profanity is "clusterfuck" and compare its elegance to the Hope Diamond. Each chapter is followed by expansive references.