SKU: 19276735537

In Praise of Profanity

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In Praise of ProfanityWhen President Obama signed the affordable health care act in 2009, the Vice President was overheard to utter an enthusiastic "This is a big f****** deal " A town in Massachusetts levies $20 fines on swearing in public. Nothing is as paradoxical as our attitude toward swearing and "bad language" how can we judge profanity so harshly in principle, yet use it so frequently in practice? Though profanity is more acceptable today than ever, it is still

When President Obama signed the affordable health care act in 2009, the Vice President was overheard to utter an enthusiastic "This is a big f****** deal " A town in Massachusetts levies $20 fines on swearing in public. Nothing is as paradoxical as our attitude toward swearing and "bad language" how can we judge profanity so harshly in principle, yet use it so frequently in practice? Though profanity is more acceptable today than ever, it is still labeled as rude, or at best tolerable only under specific circumstances. Cursing, many argue, signals an absence of character, or poor parenting, and is something to avoid at all costs. Yet plenty of us are unconcerned about the dangers of profanity; bad words are commonly used in mainstream music, Academy Award-winning films, books, and newspapers. And of course, regular people use them in conversation every day.

In In Praise of Profanity, Michael Adams offers a provocative, unapologetic defense of profanity, arguing that we've oversimplified profanity by labeling it as taboo. Profanity is valuable, even essential, both as a vehicle of communication and an element of style. As much as we may deplore it in some contexts, we should celebrate it in others. Adams skillfully weaves together linguistic and psychological analyses of why we swear-for emotional release, as a way to promote group solidarity, or to create intimate relationships -- with colorful examples of profanity in literature, TV, film, and music, such as The Sopranos, James Kelman's How Late It Was, How Late, or the songs of Nellie McKay. This breezy, jargon-free book will challenge readers to reconsider the way they think about swearing.



Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 08/01/2016
ISBN: 9780199337583
Pages: 272
Weight: 0.88lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.90w x 1.10d

Review Citations: Library Journal 05/15/2016 pg. 78
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2016
Shelf Awareness 07/29/2016
Choice 12/01/2016
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SKU: 19276735537

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My dog LOVES this tiny tug ball
Size: Medium(6")
A lot smaller than I was expecting.. BUT my dog doesn’t mind at all. She seriously loves this thing. It goes flat fairly quickly, but that’s what happens with all of her soccer balls, no matter the size. She’s a pitbul catahoula mix and has a strong bite. Considering my dogs chewing abilities, I’m fairly impressed by the durability of the ball, though she chewed through all but one of the rope handles in about 2 seconds. All that said, it’s one of her favorite toys(she’s 13 years old)
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blake r.
Grantham, US
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10/10
Size: Medium(6")
My dog loves this ball. Durable and the straps seem to be strong too. Would highly recommend
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Phyllis H. Schmidbauer
Lake Worth, US
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Durable!!
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So well made for the active dog!! Colorful, durable and good quality!!
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Ian Servis
Alexandria, US
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My dog loves this. I've had to buy two because my dog destroyed the first one but there's only so much you can do with a 5 month old german shepard.
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Colleen R.
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Not durable and lasted a week
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Had it a week and it popped. The durability is not good! It’s not chew resistant, the value for the money is poor! My dogs enjoyed it for the week it lasted it was a good size , however extremely disappointed!
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