Seven Dirty Words
Classic comedic bit by George Carlin (1937 - 2008).
Related list of words, actually more than seven, which at the time of his 1972 album release could not be said on broadcast TV or radio. Since then, the restrictions have been relaxed somewhat, but there are still several of them that cannot be used during TV's Family Hour, which see, and there are new words which cannot be used due to the Political Correctness form of Censorship. Also see: Expletive, God, Jesus Christ.
The comedic routine by Carlin resulted in him being arrested several times, which, of course, added to his notoriety and thereby sold more concert tickets and albums for him. In 1972 he was arrested and charged with Obscenity under the Federal law. A 1973 radio broadcast of the same routine resulted in another citation. However in 1978 the US Supreme Court ruled in Carlin's favor that the routine was "indecent but not obscene". See: Obscenity, Indecent, First Amendment, Crude Remarks, "bleep", and related.
Carlin's original list included: Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits. See: all entries under their own headings in this Glossary.
"Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits. Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that'll infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war."
- George Carlin (1937 - 2008), "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television", album: Class Clown, Atlantic Records, 1972