The History and Meaning of Swear Words with Linguist Professor Randall Eggert

from Profoundly Pointless · host Cloud10

We all know what the big swear words are, but where did they come from, what do they really mean and what do they say about the things we hold sacred. Linguist Randall Eggert studies swear words. In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we look at the history and hidden meaning of swear words. We talk where swear words come from, normal words that used to be swear words and the worst swear words of all time. 00:00 Introducing Professor Randall Eggert 01:11 How Words Become Swear Words 3:00 What All Swear Words Have in Common 07:00 The Worst Swear Words 11:18 The Best Swear Word 15:41 Historical Swear Words 17:16 When Swear Words Become Normal Words 19:57 New Swear Words Contact the Show Professor Randall Eggert YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 30, 2026

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The History and Meaning of Swear Words with Linguist Professor Randall Eggert

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