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Seven Dirty Words

Posted August 3, 2009 @ 10:51 pm In Numbers,Seven | No Comments

C********r
C**t
F**k ^[1]
M**********r
Piss
S**t
T**s

As we here at eAlmanac strive to create a family-friendly site (please read our Editorial Policy ^[2]), we have chosen to obfuscate six of the seven words. (Unlike Network Solutions [see quote below], we have determined that ‘s**t’ is bad, but that ‘piss’ is not.) The fact that we have chosen to block out six of the seven words—though we believe that most adults and many teenagers can probably figure out the obscured words—can be seen as an ironic statement about Mr. Carlin’s theories on censorship over two decades since he first voiced them. Or it can be seen as proof that while society has become more permissive over the past several decades, there are still some standards of decency and decorum.

If you disagree with our policy, please let us know by sending a message to info@ealmanac.com ^[3].

How It's Used

"Since Network Solutions of Herndon, Va., won an exclusive government contract to register all Internet addresses in the .com, .net and .org domains in 1992, it has forbidden Web sites to register domains that use six of comedian George Carlin's 'seven dirty words.' (The company had long ago decided that s— isn't so bad.)... 'Last winter, Steve Workman, a Chicago lawyer, formed Seven Words LLC and filed a lawsuit against Network Solutions in California, claiming that its rules banning the use of dirty domain names violated the First Amendment."

—John Simons, "Just When It Seemed Safe to Use #*@!% as Your Internet Address," The Wall Street Journal, 23 Jul 99, p. B1.

"Yet researchers who study the evolution of language and the psychology of swearing say that they have no idea what mystic model of linguistic gentility the critics might have in mind. Cursing, they say, is a human universal. Every language, dialect or patois ever studied, living or dead, spoken by millions or by a small tribe, turns out to have its share of forbidden speech, some variant on comedian George Carlin's famous list of the seven dirty words that are not supposed to be uttered on radio or television.”

—Natalie Angier, “Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore,” The New York Times, 20 Sep 05.

“Of the seven dirty words not allowed on broadcast radio and television, 'litigation' isn't one of them.”

—Amy Schatz, “Networks Fight Rising Number of FCC Fines,” The Wall Street Journal, 19 May 06, p. B1.

Also Known As (AKA)

George Carlin's Seven Dirty Words, The Seven Words that You Can't Say on Television

Links

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URL to article: http://www.ealmanac.com/594/numbers/seven-dirty-words/

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URLs in this post:

[1] F**k: http://www.ealmanac.com/586/letters/f-word/

[2] Editorial Policy: http://www.ealmanac.com/editorial-policy/

[3] info@ealmanac.com: mailto:info@ealmanac.com

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