Seven out of 400,000. Seven what? Well, I'll tell you: 7 words out of 400,000 words. You see, there are 400,000 words in the English language... and then there are the 7 forbidden fruits. The 7 dirty words "you can't say on television."  But exactly what is a "dirty" word?  In my opinion, there are no dirty words... only innuendos of our culture.

Think about all the words that you can't say at school (or on TV for that matter) and think about what they truly mean. Yes, every single one of them (except for one) has a meaning that is something completely innocent! But our culture twists and turns almost every single word so that you can barely talk without saying something completely obscene. So what's an innuendo? "An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation," says Dictionary.com Need a translation? It means that someone somewhere takes a word and says that it means something obscene or just generally disgusting.

So, "dirty" words are really cultural innuendos.  But what makes people say, "Oh! Don't say that word! That's a bad word!"  I believe it's a type of domino effect, if you will.  An innocent word such as the "b" word (which also means a female dog and is used by veterinarians as a technical term) is turned into a derogatory, sexist comment used to "put down" women. Therefore, because it is offensive towards women, and anyone of the opposite gender as well, it is considered a dirty word and is not supposed to be said by decent people.

This is not the end of the story, though. It can work both ways.  Certain words that are accepted in the English culture by the majority can actually be very offensive to others. Such as the word "wife-beater."  The word can mean "a type of undershirt", yet because of the compound of the words it is extremely offensive towards women. Wife-Beater? Come on now! How could it not be offensive?

So now you see how words can work both ways. My conclusion: As I said before, a "dirty" word is really a cultural innuendo and some culturally accepted words can be a type of innuendo as well.

This article reflects my opinions only and is not meant to impose my thoughts upon anyone else. If you personally did not care for this particular article you do not have to tell me so. ;) I apologize if I offended anyone; it was not my intention and I have tried my best throughout the writing of this article to choose my words wisely.

-cloudy83

Editor's Note: Where did that term for the undershirt come from?  My understanding is that it was (and may still be) slang, referring to the kind of men who were seen to beat their wives and how they would wear those particular undershirts.  Offensive in various degrees to both genders, in that case.  What other offensive words have unusual roots?