---
product_id: 267573772
title: "Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever"
brand: "john mcwhorter"
price: "134 Lei"
currency: RON
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.ro/products/267573772-nine-nasty-words-english-in-the-gutter-then-now-forever
store_origin: RO
region: Romania
---

# Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever

**Brand:** john mcwhorter
**Price:** 134 Lei
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever by john mcwhorter
- **How much does it cost?** 134 Lei with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ro](https://www.desertcart.ro/products/267573772-nine-nasty-words-english-in-the-gutter-then-now-forever)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Learn the history of curse words, and more Funny Things from a Cunning Linguist
  

*by C***C on Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2021*

This book starts off with a pretty hilarious story about Babe Ruth's parents, and a surprisingly explicit legal document that serves as both a record of an event, and an example of early profanity.  There are interesting little stories like this throughout the book, and I was often surprised at the origins and history of some of these words.  The book focuses on eleven specific words, as McWhorter discusses how each of them have evolved, and how their impact has changed over time.An interesting fact that McWhorter points out in the Introduction, is that most language seems to originate from the left side of the brain, while curse words are generated by the right side.  McWhorter explains that in PET scans you can see the activity in these different sides of the brain, and only profanity seems to light up the right side of the brain.  This really highlights how these words are different from normal language, not just socially, but subconsciously and biologically.I enjoyed reading this book, and learning about the history of parts of our language from a linguist that approaches these topics with a refreshing combination of humor and scientific rigor.  Any time I can read something that allows me to laugh and learn at the same time, I feel like it was time well spent.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A scholarly, witty caper across centuries of English profanity
  

*by J***R on Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2021*

Thank you to Penguin Random House for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.You can tell when authors are having a grand old time. John McWhorter is having as much fun writing about the linguistics and etymology of profane words in American English as Stephen Fry is having writing about mythology, and it shows. “Nine Nasty Words” is positively playful. Not sexy, not shocking (most of the time), just playful.In tracing how people speak certain words, you get a lot of insights into shifts in culture and into timeless human nature. No one delights in this like McWhorter, as devotees of his “Lexicon Valley” podcast already know.Where do profane words come from? How and why do they become profane? Why do they morph into acceptable use over time and go from salty to bland to ridiculous? Why does every language have them? McWhorter will cross into philosophy, sociology, psychology, history (of course), and many other social sciences to answer this question, peppering the text with generous citations from the history of written English, along with a dizzying number of references to more than a century of popular entertainment.In middle English, McWhorter points out, references to body parts and bodily functions were no more profane than references to housewares. When you could take a s____ in a corner of the stairwell, or had no option but to f____ in a room full of family members, these things were not shocking, nor were the terms for them. Post-Renaissance, and with the rise of religion and modesty, these words evolved into profanity with the advent of privacy and hygiene. This ended the long era when inviting God to damn someone to hell was breathtakingly horrible and not fit for innocent ears. F____ and s_____ rose to power.Broadly, McWhorter shows us, the worst kind of profanity in English evolved from being about religion, to being about the body, to being aimed at groups of people. Using the “N-word” (and McWhorter even traces the beginnings of how it became referred to as the “n-word”) will now excuse you from polite society in a tsunami of tweets. Black English is different in the way that it reclaims the “N-word” and has shaped it possibly into a different term altogether, and McWhorter lays it all out brilliantly in concise arguments that make perfect sense.The book ventures pretty far into the linguistic and grammatical weeds, so if “you’re not into that s__” you may want to give it a miss. Despite its subject matter, this is a scholarly book, with excellent footnotes and endnotes. For example, McWhorter draws a distinction between “I saw her a ___” and “I saw that s____” in the neutral dismissive reflexive in actual use, which delighted this reader to no end. Buy "Nine Nasty Words" for the language lover or grammar snob in your life, especially if they cuss like a sailor.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Saw Dr McWhorter on the Bill Maher show...
  

*by R***9 on Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2021*

Last night Dr. McWhorter did an amazing interview on Bill Maher's show; this morning I read this wonderful book, and I can't recommend it highly enough!  Delightfully smart and surprising and often quite funny.  (And "earthy," as you can imagine!)  Such a pleasure to read...

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*Product available on Desertcart Romania*
*Store origin: RO*
*Last updated: 2026-01-24*