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Holy Sh*t: A Brief History Of Swearing (2013)

by Melissa Mohr(Favorite Author)

3.88 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0199742677 (ISBN13: 9780199742677)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Oxford University Press

review 1: An eye-opening trip through two millennia of swear words and their uses. During the Middle Ages, swearing an oath invoking God was absolutely the worst thing a person could say (the Holy) while referring to bodily functions was no big deal since there was hardly any privacy in the first place. During most epochs though, using a variety of words to refer to body parts or activities constituted the most offensive (the Sh*t). Interesting to note, however, that today racial epithets have become the only words that are guaranteed to shock and anger. (The author stated that this was the most difficult part of the book for her to write.)
review 2: This is quite a juicy book and a pretty fun read, with an air of critical thinking and of course an uninhibited tongue... more. Rather than take a linguistic view of the purpose of cursing, which has been quite well spelled out by the likes of Stephen Pinker, Mohr gives overview to the culture around what were considered profane or obscene words in ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, Victorian era and of course the 20th century. In this way, she makes a pretty interesting argument for how racial epithets have become more of the forbidden words in contemporary culture and that the 'dirty' words are almost beside the point, outside of some puritanical holders-on. less

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