Four-letter words have been around since the days of our forebears—and their forebears, too. In Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing,
a book out this month from Oxford University Press, medieval literature
expert Melissa Mohr traces humans’ use of naughty language back to
Roman times. NewsFeed asked Mohr what surprising tidbits readers might
stumble upon amidst the expletives. Here are nine talking points from
her opus for your next (presumably, pretty edgy) cocktail hour.
