Last Word: Swearing is not always an act of aggression
In the days when John McEnroe used colourful language on court, he often had to pay a fine while those who swore in languages other than English escaped punishment. McEnroe’s contemporary Vijay Amritraj was not the cursing type, but had he used choice Tamil phrases, he might have got away with it.
Now all that is passe´. Thanks to AI, anyone can curse fluently in any language and be understood too. It is unlikely that South Africa’s cricket captain Temba Bavuma remained mystified for long when Jasprit Bumrah mocked him with a derisive epithet. You can imagine one of his entourage looking it up and informing him.
There is no need to look up the most common swearword, the one that rhymes with — Ah! You know what I mean. For sheer linguistic versatility, nothing in the language matches this word whose variations can be used as any part of speech from noun to verb to interjection. The word that begins with a gentle fricative and culminates in a harsh guttural thrust is universally used, from pole to pole and from Alaska back again to Alaska.
Did Harbhajan Singh use a racial slur against Andrew Symonds in Australia or was he merely using a term for an unusual parental act that is common in everyday conversation in India? If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, should profanity remain in the ear of the listener?
There is something wonderfully democratic about swearing in sport. You may be the star striker with deals in millions of dollars, or the substitute whose greatest contribution is remembering the lyrics to the team song. But both are fluent in the same earthy vocabulary. There’s nothing like a well-timed, unprintable exclamation.
The modern athlete is a finely tuned (and toned) professional. Nutrition plans, sports psychologists, cryotherapy chambers all work towards this. And yet, let a tennis player hit a forehand into the net, and centuries of culture, civilisation, and self-help advice are instantly abandoned in favour of a hearty phrase. It’s reassuring, really. All the science in the world, and still the oldest coping mechanism survives.
Swearing, scientists tell us, has a positive impact on physical performance. But we know that already, don’t we? Can you lift a sofa to retrieve something that has rolled under it without a hearty swear? And what of stubbing your toe? A spontaneous expletive reduces the pain or at least makes it more fun to bear.
Swearing is not always an act of aggression. Consider the badminton player who mutters a sharp syllable after losing a point. It is not directed at anyone but merely indicates that the universe has failed to align with his racquet. Then there is the question of intent. Players swear at teammates too — drop a catch off a fast bowler and you will regret not wearing ear plugs.
Mark Twain said it best: ‘Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied to prayer. Sometimes the two are combined. Jeez! You didn’t know that?’
Published on Dec 07, 2025
