Language Most Foul

Have we always sworn like troopers? Has creative cursing developed simply because we can't thump someone when they make us mad? And if verbal aggression is universal, why is it that some languages (Japanese for instance) supposedly have no offensive words? Language once reserved for the footy field---or the labour ward---has broken through the tradesman's entrance, much to the horror of a few refined individuals, but seemingly not anyone much else. Ruth Wajnryb takes an entertaining look at how