It's a decade since David Bowie departed, and a decade since @sesquiotic.bsky.social posted this inventory of all his sweary songs, with videos stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/e...

"He did have a nickname, but it's a bit rude for me to tell you. Well, I'll tell you, but you're not gonna be able to air it. Do you want me to tell you?" We won't spoil the surprise.

NJ lawmakers introduce the FUCK ICE Act. The bill "permits civil action for violations of US Constitution related to immigration enforcement."

More new "Fucks" $65(Cdn) each (including postage.) Titles & descriptions in alt-text. DM if interested (more to come.)

Great line on Morning Ireland (It Says In The Papers) this morning - “officials from his time in the Northern Ireland Office, when asked to describe Mandelson, used one-word descriptions starting with the letters w, f and even c”. @rteradio1.bsky.social #MandelsonEpstein #Mandelson

It's a great opinion by Judge Ana Reyes (and sound on the law—Noem was too busy posting to follow even the basics of the statute). Worth a read, and don't skip the footnotes.

FTA: @benzimmer.bsky.social is going to verb the taboo term out of this one stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/i...

January links! Credits: @mashedradish.bsky.social @marthabarnette.bsky.social @paperairplane.pub @stancarey.bsky.social @stronglang.bsky.social @grammargirl.bsky.social & more! fritinancy.substack.com/p/january-li...

Family’s Euphemism For Genitals Really Weird https://theonion.com/family-s-euphemism-for-genitals-really-weird-1819575047/

My Latin speaking peeps: @shadowspar.bsky.social was looking for a good Latin equivalent of "fuck around, find out" and this was my attempt, but I know it's not perfect; who's got better?

Fuckin' NYT robbin' me of my royalties

Check out the Strong Language blog posts about the Slow Horses' major-league sweariness. He delves into Herron's books, but the TV show does a pretty great job of bringing the books to life, including that aspect. stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/e... with two other posts after this one.

Here's one for the @stronglang.bsky.social mixtape www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Em...

Can you freaking believe that "freaking" is almost 100 years old? @stancarey.bsky.social salutes a popular euphemism: stronglang.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/a... #swearing

Back in my young and foolish ESOL teaching days, I developed a lesson on the grammar and semantics of swearing. I still think it was probably the most useful lesson I taught but oddly enough I only managed to deliver it once

Another freaking f-word. New post for @stronglang.bsky.social about "freaking" as a euphemistic intensifier: stronglang.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/a... 🐦🐦

FTA: quant à Shakespeare, @mashedradish.bsky.social n'en a rien à foutre stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/p...

I've been on @stronglang.bsky.social's AF/as fuck beat for quite a while now. stronglang.wordpress.com/tag/as-fuck/

John McWhorter on "FAFO," with a shout-out to @jessesword.com. | cc @stronglang.bsky.social messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/rend...

CNN graphics put the asterisk in the wrong place, it appears…

This censorship malarkey is fuck*d

FTA: @ivacheung.com asks "What in the very specific fuck?" stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/w...

With apologies, but... Shite Christmas

"Even as the F-word has proliferated on smaller screens, a rule from the 1980s that limits its use in PG-13 movies has endured, influencing the way some filmmakers write, shoot and edit." | cc @stronglang.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I’m listening

FTA: @fritinancy.bsky.social talks about fcuking branding stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/w...

Swearing makes you stronger! Richard Stevens (of the "swearing makes you more resistant to pain" study) is back, with a study showing that swearing helps you release your inhibitions and give it your all. Attn @stronglang.bsky.social psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

you should be allowed tell one person to fuck off each day without them getting mad

FTA: A guest post from Karyl Krug. FUBAR? FIGMO. Fox Oscar. stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/i...

A colloquial Russian equivalent to “mind your own business” is тебя не ебут, ты не подмахивай. It means “you’re not getting fucked, so don’t wiggle your ass.”

bank statement..Jaysis. If I ever go for a loan, I’ll have some job explaining that’s a charity shop and nothing more..

FTA: @mashedradish.bsky.social tells us what it sounds like when fucks fly stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/01/13/w...

STILL NOT SURE if I can somehow wear this to last work day before Christmas

Swearing & Christmas, there's no better combo 🤬🙃 Join us for the last ISLE Online forum of the year with Kate Burridge, Kristy Beers Fägersten & Karyn Stapleton on Friday (Dec 12), 10am CET. Zoom link available here: www.isle-linguistics.org/activities/o... #ISLE #EnglishLinguistics #Linguistics

FTA: A decade ago, @fritinancy.bsky.social looked back at a sweary good year stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/01/09/a...

How would you define the difference between bullshit and horseshit?

My interest in (1) tennis and, unrelatedly, (2) the linguistics of profanity means that just now when I saw the phrase "WTA RG F" my brain briefly decided that it meant "what the actual Roland-Garros fuck"

The term "circlejerk" has picked up an interesting new figurative meaning in the names of subreddits, meaning something similar to "shitposting". So for example r/vexillologycirclejerk, is full of dumb memes and jokes about flags.

FTA: A real circle-jerk from @sesquiotic.bsky.social stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/c...

Why spend your morning getting anything productive done when you too could be going through the Official Ofcom Guide to Bad Words? (Warning, of course, for bad language.) @stronglang.bsky.social www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/r...

Melissa Mohr's "Holy Sh*t" and Geoffrey Hughes's "Encyclopedia of Swearing" are great. Hughes's "Swearing: A Social History…" has rich detail but not modern. Rob Chirico's "Damn!" covers the US, and Ben Bergen's "What the F" addresses recent shifts from a cog-sci pov

While we're here, do you know of any well researched books on the history of profane/uncouth language? I'm especially interested in the recent (last 50 years) changes that have happened in taboo language.

can bluesky please stop hiding replies just because they have bad words in them? i'm a grownup, i can read the word "fuck"

See also www.theallusionist.org/lexicat1 by @allusionistshow.bsky.social

Every time I walk past this cafe on Bethnal Green Road I think it embodies all the ways modern London annoys me

@stronglang.bsky.social Can it be true?

Alternatively, you can give a shift. @stronglang.bsky.social

My 7 year old just reached for a piece of pizza fresh out of the oven and exclaimed, in the same tone as an adult swearing… “English folklore, that’s hot!” I choked laughing ENGLISH FOLKLORE AS A SWEAR? WHO ARE YOU?!?