Regular readers of this blog are familiar with all the self-censorship that goes on in today's media. But it wasn't always thus. As Radosh.net Senior Lexicological Correspondent Jesse Sheidlower notes in a recent article for Slate, the New York Times – the Gray Lady herself, so fond these days of reminding us that it is a family newspaper – used to object to this kind of behavior:
In 1966, Jess Stein, the editor-in-chief of the major Random House Dictionary of the English Language, told the New York Times about a meeting he convened with the company's editorial and sales staff to discuss the words cunt and fuck. "When I uttered the words there was a shuffling of feet, and a wave of embarrassment went through the room," he said. "That convinced me the words did not belong in the dictionary, though I'm sure I'll be attacked as a prude for the decision."
Stein did not have to wait long to be proven right on the last point: A mere two weeks later, the Times' own book reviewer wrote, "Unfortunately, a stupid prudery has prevented the inclusion of probably the most widely-used word in the English language. The excuse here, no doubt, is 'good taste'; but in a dictionary of this scope and ambition the omission seems dumb and irresponsible."
Anyone care to spend $3.95 to see if the Times actually printed that "most widely-used word" in the original piece? Actually, don't. I'd rather hold onto the fantasy. Instead, read Sheidlower's article for some great info on the correct usage of terms like prong and irrumo, and then buy the updated edition of The F-Word. I haven't picked up the new one yet, but the original is one of the best books on language I've ever read (and, yes, I have read more than one).
(Disclaimer: Unlike this blog's originator/namesake, I've never actually met or corresponded with Jesse Sheidlower. I just appreciate a man dedicated enough to his job that he will track down the full usage history of phrases like "hotter than a fresh-fucked fox in a forest fire" and "you look like a monkey trying to fuck a football.")
