What do YouTube comments, medieval monks, and modern politics have in common? They’re all tangled in the wild history of vulgar. In this episode, TJ traces the word’s transformation from “of the people” to “offensive,” and asks whether vulgarity might just be the people’s poetry.

Sources:

• Oxford English Dictionary
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• Latin texts and linguistics journals
• Writings of John McWhorter, George Orwell
• The Vulgar Tongue: Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Potential Titles:

• “Vulgar Display of Power”
• “The Vulgar Establishment”
• “From Vulgus to Vile”
• “Common People, Common Tongue”

Send us a text

Share your suggestion for words or phrases, thoughts on the episodes, or just engage with us on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lexiconnedpodcast/