I finally got around to starting Deadwood, of which I collected all three seasons and the bonus movie from op shops. And crikey does it go hard on the colourful language! Quite amazing for a show from the bleepin' USA.

"I may have fucked up my life flatter than hammered shit, but I stand here before you today beholden to no human cocksucker, and holding a working fucking gold claim, and not the U.S. government telling me I'm trespassing, or the savage fucking red man or any of these other limber-dick cocksuckers passing themselves off as prospectors had better try and stop me."

OK. Give the man another whiskey, I guess.

https://trakt.tv/shows/deadwood
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348914/

#StrongLanguage #Deadwood

Deadwood

The story of the early days of Deadwood, South Dakota; woven around actual historic events with most of the main characters based on real people. Deadwood starts as a gold mining camp and gradually turns from a lawless wild-west community into an organized wild-west civilized town. The story focuses on the real-life characters Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen.

Trakt Web
Another freaking f-word

I never fully adopted freaking as an intensifier, euphemistic for fucking, partly because I swear fairly freely, and maybe also because fecking was available in my Irish English dialect. But I like…

Strong Language

"Shakespeare’s strongest language isn’t even voiced in English" – John Kelly on lewd language lessons in Henry V:
https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/pardon-my-french-lewd-language-lessons-in-henry-v/

#FTA #Shakespeare #StrongLanguage #HenryV #literature

Pardon my French: Lewd language lessons in Henry V

In terms of plot, Shakespeare’s The Life of Henry the Fifth (Henry V) is fairly straightforward: invading France after making a claim on French territories, a vastly outnumbered King Henry (Harry) …

Strong Language

"It’s not enough to swear; one must swear precisely."

Michael Adams on how Mick Herron uses profanity to build character and narrative in the Slough House series of spy novels:
https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/07/13/jackson-lamb-and-the-slow-horses-learn-how-to-spell-profanity/

#swearing #profanity #MickHerron #books #SpyFiction #StrongLanguage
#fiction #writing

Jackson Lamb and the Slow Horses Learn How to Spell Profanity

As dawn rises on Aldersgate Street, small creatures rampage in the trash, and frosty tendrils of winter reach into the London fall. Various occupants of Slough House arrive swearing, as one tends t…

Strong Language

"Chitty fucking Bang Bang", "Jesus screaming fuck!", "Jackabloodynory", "supercalifragilisticfuckmealadocious"

Michael Adams continues his series on swearing in the Slough House spy novels, focusing here on "infixing and interposing as a means of characterization":

https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/07/11/a-shit-ton-of-infixing-and-interposing-lands-on-slough-house-everyone-survives/

#swearing #profanity #books #SpyFiction #StrongLanguage #fiction #MickHerron

A Shit Ton of Infixing and Interposing Lands on Slough House, Everyone Survives

The intelligence officers of Slough House, good at everyday profanity, are proficient infixers and interposers, too. An infixing, remember, is when one inserts profanity into the structure of a wor…

Strong Language

"Mick Herron's series of spy novels...revel in bad language, which is necessary to its comedy and to the development of character and narrative cohesion."

Michael Adams on the Slough House series, new on the Strong Language blog:
https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/espionage-novels-that-give-a-fuck-about-profanity/

#swearing #profanity #books #SpyFiction #espionage #LiteraryCriticism #StrongLanguage #fiction

Espionage Novels that Give a Fuck about Profanity

A couple of years ago, people I know were talking about the Apple TV series Slow Horses, the television version of Mick Herron’s Slough House novels. I love espionage novels, and I like espionage t…

Strong Language

"We know the characters by their swearing." Michael Adams on Mick Herron's Slough House novels. New on the Strong Language blog:
https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/espionage-novels-that-give-a-fuck-about-profanity/

#swearing #books #SpyFiction #espionage #profanity #LiteraryCriticism #LitCrit #StrongLanguage #fiction

Espionage Novels that Give a Fuck about Profanity

A couple of years ago, people I know were talking about the Apple TV series Slow Horses, the television version of Mick Herron’s Slough House novels. I love espionage novels, and I like espionage t…

Strong Language

If you're wondering about "bee's dick", well, that's only natural. @bgzimmer has the buzz on the Strong Language blog: https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/a-new-cooking-measurement/

#etymology #phrases #slang #StrongLanguage

A new cooking measurement?

On Twitter, Siobhán Britton (aka @wigglymittens) shared a recipe from the magazine Glamour (UK edition) listing an unusual ingredient: “a bee’s dick of salt.” [Update, Aug. 29: As…

Strong Language
“Christ fucking shit merde!” On the variable power of multilingual swearing

In my mid-teens I spent a few summer weeks in beautiful Brittany on a school exchange. My classmates and I exchanged more than grammar lessons with our French peers, swearwords being among the most…

Strong Language

Fun, end of day read: the saga of Hendrix, a blue-and-gold macaw with a real gift for strong language.

“One day he will call you baby and the next day he’s calling you a...hmm. MFer I guess is the politest way to type it out.”

https://wapo.st/4etANZA

cc: @stronglang #stronglanguage #cursing #macaw #funread

Bird lovers flock to adopt parrot who is ‘rated R, parental advisory required’

“He says thank you when you give him snacks but will also tell you to shut up,” said Chantelle Rogers, who works at the animal shelter in Fall River, Mass.

The Washington Post