Why do people swear so much?

Expletives seem to be exceptionally popular right now.

When I was growing up, bad words didn’t happen. I never heard my parents swear.

At junior school, at break time, another pupil explained what the F word meant. Apparently, it had something to do with plumbing. She’d heard her father (a plumber) say the word quite often and had come to the conclusion that it must be a plumbing tool or the underside of a sink. Such was our innocence. For many years after that, I truly believed it had something to do with plumbing. It seemed too dull to mention to my parents or siblings.

At senior school, bad words circulated, and I became interested in them. English was my favourite subject, so naturally, words fascinated me. How people used them fascinated me too. At last, I learned that the F word wasn’t a plumbing tool or part after all. I saw rude magazines the boys brought in, with more rude words.

One afternoon, I wrote all the swear words I’d learned in a notebook. I enjoyed counting how many I knew. Then I forgot about it until a few days later, when I arrived home from school to be summoned into the sitting room. I stood behind my mum’s armchair while she pointed to the words I’d written and asked me why I’d written them.