Donate

expletive

Tulips and a windmill

Damn coronavirus! How the Dutch use diseases as curse words.

Language

What to do with pent up anxiety? Some say profanities help relieve stress. But while English swear words and phrases are often linked to sex, in the Dutch language, many profanities and expletives are derived from disease.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a news conference in Davao city.

‘Stop telling us what to do!’ What’s behind a Filipino leader’s scolding of Washington

Conflict
Tell us about your experience accessing The World

We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!

We respect your time, attention and privacy

This is a news website, not a click casino. We do NOT employ deceptive behaviors, display annoying ads or use third party cookies and trackers to monetize your visit or help advertisers track you across the internet.

Simply, we ask that you would consider a donation to support the journalism we produce every weekday. Thank you.

This is The World

The World is a public radio program and podcast that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter.

Follow The World

Subscribe to The World’s Latest Edition podcast for free using your favorite podcast player: