Well F*** Me, It's All Gone To S***

October 18, 2022 1:44 PM

The folks at WordTips have dissected our foul mouthed tweeting to figure out what swear word is most popular in each state.

Unsurprisingly, "fuck" is the king of the (trash) heap, being the most commonly used swear word - but not the one with the most states preferring it, as that honor goes to "shit", with 15 states putting it on their mantles. In addition, it appears that Georgia is the state most needing its mouth washed out with soap, while Minnesota plays to stereotypes with the lowest count of swears by volume.

posted by NoxAeternum (53 comments total)

while Minnesota plays to stereotypes

Well I never! You wait a gosh darned minute before you start in with your flingin flangin stereotypes. What the heck is this consarned map even trying say? To heck with your daggum map! FIDDLESTICKS!

(fiddlesticks used in memory of my grandma who really liked that word and used it like it was severe and who was very Minnesotan)
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 2:05 PM on October 18, 2022 [13 favorites]

Seeing that "hell" is the most-used swear in Utah, I can't help but wonder if at least some of those are referring to the place, not being used as a swear. Similarly, I don't really think of "crap" (Idaho's most popular swear) as a swear word, but rather a swear word substitute. Not sure how Mormons see it though.

It makes sense that Kai would be the swearing-est name since, as the link points out, it is a very "young" name.
posted by the sockening at 2:07 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

fuck this shit -- no mention of Canada anywhere
posted by philip-random at 2:09 PM on October 18, 2022

not what I was expecting of New Jersey
posted by supermedusa at 2:18 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's an extensive article -
Does it go into the Animal Variations of Shit?
Apeshit - physically expressive anger, rage
Batshit - insane
Bullshit - obvious lies, unfairness
Chickenshit - cowardly
Dogshit - low quality
Horseshit - nonsense, of no value
Etc
posted by bartleby at 2:22 PM on October 18, 2022 [10 favorites]

Just stopping by to point out, that as is often the case with these mapsicles, the data source being Twitter means that all it really tells us is not What swear word is most popular in each state, but What swear words are tweeted the most in each state. Allegedly 23% of Americans use Twitter, but active non-bot users is probably much lower, say 10%. And chances are that that sector has a different propensity to swear than the other 90 percent.
posted by beagle at 2:28 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

"Cr@p" is not a swear word and I don't believe Idaho doesn't use swear words. There are far too many fuckheads in Idaho for them not to swear.
posted by doctor_negative at 2:38 PM on October 18, 2022 [4 favorites]

But which Potterism is most popular in which state?
posted by credulous at 2:40 PM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

fuck this shit -- no mention of Canada anywhere
In fairness "Canada" is a pretty mild swear.

I'm a little surprised by Iowa which is an odd of an outlier as Idaho. When I lived there in the mid-90s it was without a doubt an F-word which doesn't show up on this list and which bothered me then and now. It was one of the weird parts about going to college so close physically and far away in other ways.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 2:41 PM on October 18, 2022 [7 favorites]

Honestly, Connecticut feels about right. "Bitch" is a bit daintier of a swear than most.
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:45 PM on October 18, 2022

Heineken?

FUCK THAT SHIT!

Pabst Blue Ribbon!

Hell, that's all the Fuck Shit I've got...
posted by Windopaene at 2:49 PM on October 18, 2022 [5 favorites]

fiddlesticks used in memory of my grandma

I had a high school teacher often used "horsefeathers" in a similarly vehement manner. I always wondered if she was aware of how much we snickered about it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:59 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

as is often the case with these mapsicles, ...

...they taste like shit.
That fuckin' ice cream van guy can go to hell.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:01 PM on October 18, 2022

What the fuck is "Illionis"
posted by AndNeverWell at 3:26 PM on October 18, 2022

You can't trust people who think damn is a swear word.
posted by biffa at 3:33 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I read this post and thought, shit, I bet my home state must be near the top of swearers, and that the number one Maryland swear word would surely be “shit.”

I remember when I first moved to New York all my friends in the city were generally shocked at my foul mouth and specifically put off by my (totally normal) penchant for casually calling food “shit,” as in “Try some of this shit, it’s delicious.”

Never let me down, Old Line.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 3:37 PM on October 18, 2022 [6 favorites]

"Cr@p" is not a swear word

It is in Texas. Along with "heck". I was literally lectured to by a born-again Texan woman who took umbrage at my saying "heck" in the state of Texas. Heck, for fucks sake.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:45 PM on October 18, 2022 [5 favorites]

My mom was from Kansas. When I was a kid and we went to visit her sister and brother, I was both amazed and amused at how seamlessly she swapped out her usual Jesus Christ! for Judas Priest! while we were there.
posted by y2karl at 3:58 PM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

I like the use of "h3ll" on the map for Utah, Minnesota, Missouri, but the separate "hell" for North & South Dakota, Delaware, and Rhode Island. And Nebraska, which is of course its own separate hell. ;)
posted by xedrik at 4:00 PM on October 18, 2022

[F]uck this shit -- no mention of Canada anywhere.

In fairness "Canada" is a pretty mild swear.


Canuck off!
posted by New Frontier at 4:42 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

What the fuck is "Illionis"

I went to school with her, she used to swear like a goddamn salior.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:30 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Reggie Watts would like a word.
posted by jeremias at 5:41 PM on October 18, 2022

Georgia Is America’s Most Foul-Mouthed State

No fucking way am I buying that goddamn bullshit.
posted by TedW at 5:47 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Shouldn’t Massachusetts be “fook“? As in “it’s a fookin’ baby wheel!”
posted by TedW at 5:53 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'm surprised that "Hell" counts as a swear word!

Not "bloody hell!"

or "Fucking hell!"

but just "Hell!"
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 6:07 PM on October 18, 2022

I am very proud of my life-long efforts securing “mother fucker” as Indiana’s favorite swear word.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:48 PM on October 18, 2022 [5 favorites]

I choose to believe many tweets about the beloved Salix Discolor (Pussy Willow) may have inadvertently impacted the results for Iowa.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 6:59 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Also Alaska seems tamer than I expected with Dick. Maybe there are a lot of Richard’s up there? (Though apparently Vermont has more Richards than any other state - greater than 1% of people are apparently named Richard there - that’s a lot of Dicks)
posted by inflatablekiwi at 7:05 PM on October 18, 2022

Metafilter: tamer than I expected with dick
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:29 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

It makes sense that Kai would be the swearing-est name since, as the link points out, it is a very "young" name.

I was imagining Kai Ryssdal's twitter stream being an absolute shitstorm of profanity and totally skewing the data.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:32 PM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

"Cr@p" is not a swear word, cried Tom Q*bertishly.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 7:37 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Georgia Is America’s Most Foul-Mouthed State

No fucking way am I buying that goddamn bullshit.

Well, it does fucking say fucking Atlanta is on fucking top. YMMfuckingV.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:41 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

Georgia Is America’s Most Foul-Mouthed State

No fucking way am I buying that goddamn bullshit.

Rush hour in Atlanta does things to people.
posted by thivaia at 9:13 PM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

[F]uck this shit -- no mention of Canada anywhere.

In fairness "Canada" is a pretty mild swear.

Yeah, nothing at all like "Belgium." (Sorry, sorry. I won't repeat it.)
posted by bryon at 9:48 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

No Rory for you, bryon! For shame.

As for some of the other Potterisms.... well, cw for bullying and aggressive censoring
posted by Jacen at 10:44 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

Live in Atlanta, can confirm. We cuss a lot. If Herschel Walker was about to be elected as your Senator, you’d cuss too. Sigh.
posted by pearlybob at 2:32 AM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]

I think the subhead in the article,

Americans Love ‘Fuck’

... missed its moment as the FPP title. Maybe it will see new life as a sock puppet name.

fuck this shit -- no mention of Canada anywhere

Beh, ouais — initiallement j’ai le feu au cul pour ce vidange, mais maintenant j’m’en calice pour ces téteux.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:57 AM on October 19, 2022

Maryland is in second place!


We can do better.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:27 AM on October 19, 2022

no mention of Canada anywhere

It's fucking embarrassing
posted by flabdablet at 7:02 AM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

no mention of Canada anywhere

to be clear, there was supposed to be a link in there ...
posted by philip-random at 9:26 AM on October 19, 2022

Jesus Christ this list is way too secular.
posted by charlesminus at 9:39 AM on October 19, 2022

¡Coño! ¡Carajo! ¡Puñeta!
posted by mubba at 10:17 AM on October 19, 2022

As an Australian, the phrase I find myself most often saying is

"Oh, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:41 AM on October 19, 2022 [2 favorites]

As an American, same...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:47 AM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

Thanks to growing up in a religious household, one of my superpowers is being able to swear so creatively and provocatively it would make a pirate feel ill, but also being able to turn it off completely and/or replace everything with made up swears or common mild curses that wouldn't raise an eyebrow from a devout Mormon.

It's really handy if I'm hanging out with friends that have kids or I'm in polite company.

It's also really fun to disturb my non-secular friends by not-swearing like a Mormon in front of them with stuff like "heck and gall!" or my personal favorite "oh, biscuits and gravy!

And of course any word can be a swear word with the right tone, intent and it has enough plosives and fricatives to make it satisfying to say.
posted by loquacious at 10:55 AM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

"Cr@p" is not a swear word

It is in Texas. Along with "heck". I was literally lectured to by a born-again Texan woman who took umbrage at my saying "heck" in the state of Texas. Heck, for fucks sake.

Having lived here the majority of my life, my reply to her would have been, "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Which... Texas is 13th on most swears. No. Just no way.

That just amplifies beagle's point. This isn't measuring swears for the states, but swears ON TWITTER for the states.

I can make wallpaper peel and have had sailor's ask me to tone my swearing down*. Check my comment history here, though and profanity is virtually non-existent. My work e-mails, even with the closest of close, I would venture has zero swears. Even after 7 years. It's all about context and environment.

Of course, they don't count "Bless your heart" as some pretty scorchy words to say, so maybe that's why Texas ranks as low as they do.

And, their list of swear words is... unique, for sure.

Fun article, but clearly flawed.

*g-d, m-fing, c-sin', sonuvab, has rolled off my tongue more than once...
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:06 PM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

Americans are now cursing more than ever. Business Insider estimates that the average person swears 80-90 times per day.

Rookies.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:11 PM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

South Florida should be its own thing. When you start seeing iguanas, you start hearing f-bombs.
posted by credulous at 7:06 PM on October 19, 2022

Americans are now cursing more than ever.

This fucking fucker is fucking fucked!

-- WWII G.I. Mechanic as overheard by a British officer
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:27 PM on October 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

Speaking as a chronologically escrusted old fart I object to the bastardization of the words "swear" and "curse." The phrase you are searching for is "potty-mouth." You will know when I take a vow to turn you into a frog.

As for Canada, I defer to Kevin "Bloody" Wilson for lexicological verisimilitude.

At his first gig at a Canadian venue, he was given a list of words to avoid while performing there. Apparantly these guys had never seen his show. He says he sat down in his dressing room before the gig and wrote a song about the word at the top of the list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwBR0qwHZBA
posted by mule98J at 7:30 AM on October 22, 2022

Have a friend who moved to Arkansas after high school. He returned years later and we bumped into each other in a very public place. In his surprise he exclaimed "Well, fuck me runnin', it's you!" Having never heard that one, and overcome with the mental image of my friend receiving a running fuck, I collapsed to the floor, a writhing pile of helpless mirth. To this day it makes me giggle at the most inappropriate times.
posted by pee tape at 6:07 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

Americans are now cursing more than ever. Business Insider estimates that the average person swears 80-90 times per day.

Rookies.

Shouldn’t that be “fuckin’ rookies”, at least”
posted by TedW at 4:09 PM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Tryhard rookie fucks.
posted by flabdablet at 5:26 AM on October 25, 2022