F-word worse

Whether or not the exclamation ‘Oh my God’ can be regarded as religious irreverence, it will be welcome by many who are sick of hearing the loud swearing and use of the f-word in public.

Once we regarded the use of swearing and particularly the f-word as obscenity to be punished and frowned upon. However, today they are regarded by some of our celebrities as the mark and measure of their sophistication.

It is hard to get away from the culture of f-words, which have invaded our literature, the arts and some of our institutions.

You can hear the sound of it in the corridors of our parliaments; in children’s conversations and read it on the lips of a footballer who fails to kick that vital goal.