Since ancient times, people have been finding creatives ways to curse angrily, yet politely. Such oaths were used by the Romans; in Victorian times and into the early 20th century, people still said “by Jupiter” and “by Jove,” which are survivals from Latin. Our word maven Patricia T. O'Conner will be discussing the history of these mild oaths, and we want to know your favorite substitutes for course language, too! An updated and expanded third edition of O’Conner’s book, Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, is available in paperback.

If you have a question about language and grammar, or if you would like to offer your own euphemistic oath on the air, leave a comment or call us at 212-433-9692!