''The F-Word'' is a book by lexicographer and linguist

Jesse Sheidlower Jesse Sheidlower (born August 5, 1968) is a lexicographer, editor, author, and programmer. He is past president of the American Dialect Society, was the project editor of the Random House ''Dictionary of American Slang'', and is the author of '' ...

surveying the history and usage of the English word ''

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

'' and a wide variety of

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

s that replace it. Sheidlower examines 16th and 17th century poetry, 20th century literature, and 21st century media uses of the word. The book was first published in 1995 by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, which also published the second edition in 1999.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

published a revised and expanded third edition in 2009, featuring a foreword by comedian

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion and cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis Black's ...

References

* Elias, Justine. (September 15, 2009)
Plain talk: Jesse Sheidlower gives the f-word its due.
''The Boston Phoenix''. * Sheidlower, Jesse. (2009)
''The F-word''
(third edition). New York: Oxford University Press US.

References

Further reading