Seven dirty words

American comedian George Carlin (1937 – 2008) first made a list of seven obscene English language words during a 1972 monologue ("The Seven Words You Can't Say on Television").[1] The seven words were motherfucker, tits, shit, piss, fuck, cunt and cocksucker.[2]

In the 1970s, these words were called inappropriate, obscene, and indecent on the United States' public airwaves. The terms were almost never used in scripted material. The broadcast standards in many parts of the world are different. Across the United States, a lot of the words on Carlin's original list are still not allowed in broadcast television or radio.[source?]

Background of the seven dirty words

In a concert in 1966, the comedian Lenny Bruce said he was arrested when he said nine words in his sketch: "ass", "balls", "cocksucker", "cunt", "fuck", "motherfucker", "piss", "shit" and "tits".[3]

Right after performing the routines at Summerfest in Milwaukee in 1972, Carlin was charged with disturbance of the peace and was arrested. The following year, on his album Occupation: Toole, Carlin had a similar routine called "Filthy Words". The New York City radio station WBAI broadcast uncensored versions of the routine on October 30, 1973.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Filthy Words by George Carlin". Unversity of Missouri-Kansas City. Archived from the original on 2011-01-23. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ Sullivan, James (8 June 2010). Seven Dirty Words - The Life and Crime of George Carlin. ISBN 9780786745920. Retrieved December 25, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ "The Lenny Bruce Performance Film". IMDb. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  4. ↑ "You Can't Say that on Television". Time. Retrieved December 25, 2021.[permanent dead link]