2014: The Year In Swearing

A round up of the year's most notable potty-mouthed antics, news and scholarly research. Language warning, obviously.

January

Paramount / Via leavinjustintime.tumblr.com

Kicking off the year to a great start – The Wolf of Wall Street breaks the Guinness World Record for the most swear words in a single film. Scorsese doesn't give a single fuck. He gives FIVE-HUNDRED-AND-GODDAMN-SIX of em.

February

tiger_barb / Via depositphotos.com

Police in Sydney, Australia increase on the spot fines for swearing in public to $500. Bloody oath, mate! That's a bit fucking steep, don't you reckon?

March

Vatican / Via youtube.com

Pope Francis drops an accidental f-bomb. Or the Italian equivalent anyway.

April

A relatively clean month for language-related news. Although this dope guide to profanity in rap lyrics since 1985 is published.

May

OLEG POPOV / Reuters

Putin bans swearing in films, books and movies.

June

Mayor of Los Angeles drops f-bomb of joy at Stanley Cup Victory Parade.

July

Miramax / Via enjoyithigh.tumblr.com

In a journalistic triumph, some geniuses tally every “motherfucker” uttered by Samuel L Jackson on film. The supercut runs for over 3 minutes.

August

BBC

Peter Capaldi announced as the new Doctor Who. Tells press “I stopped swearing two years ago”. The art of profanity loses one of it’s greatest and most virtuosic performers.

Meanwhile, a child prodigy emerges.

September

Mattel inadvertently (?) gets in on the action with the release of Swearing Barbie. Related: What to do when your kids first start swearing.

October

Miki López / Via farodevigo.es

85-year old, award winning architect Frank Gehry gives journalists the finger, calls 98% of architecture “pure shit” after receiving prestigious prize from the King of Spain. He later apologised and blamed jet lag for the incident.

November

ABC / Via jasonnywithnochance.tumblr.com

Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow trade cusses on Jimmy Kimmel. Highlights include "choad" and "cock sandwich".

December

Devon & Cornwall Police

British man with 176 convictions for repeated foul-mouthed outbursts threatened with “life in prison”.

As [he] was led from the dock on Thursday he shouted: “I’d get less for burglary.” He then swore at the court.

Shine on you crazy fucking diamond. Shine on.

Bonus link roundup

Some great writing on profanity published this year:

– Hell Yeah We Fuck Die – the 5 most popular words in song titles from the 2010s.

– The Complete Guide to Swearing at Work.

– Swear Word History: Where Your Favorite Curses Came From.

– #Cursing Study: 10 Lessons About How We Use Swear Words on Twitter.

That's it for the year in profanity. Happy Fucking Holidays from us to all of you!

P.S. Here's a non-traditional Christmas tune to bring the holiday spirit into your hearts.