People in Seattle swear less than other metropolitan cities, study finds
SEATTLE, WA - A general view of the Seattle Skyline and Mount Rainier from Kerry Park. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images for Rock'n'Roll Marathon)
SEATTLE - It may sound like a bunch of bull, but a new study suggests that people in Seattle swear less than other major metropolitan cities in the United States.
Profanity is used by many across the globe. Most cultures consider the use of cuss words as being inappropriate. However, depending on the context, some people use them to express themselves during tense, humorous or even joyful moments.
For educational purposes, Preply, a company that offers online language tutoring, surveyed 1,500 people from 30 major U.S. cities to find out who swears the most. Here is what they found:
- The average person swears 21 times per day.
- People in Columbus, Ohio cuss the most at 36 times per day.
- People in Phoenix, Arizona cuss the least at 14 times per day.
- The average age that Americans utter their first bad word is 11.
- More than half of Americans use swear word substitutions like, "Fudge", "shoot" and "frick" (A full list of favorites can be found later in the article.
HOW OFTEN PEOPLE IN SEATTLE SWEAR
SEATTLE, WA (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
According to Preply’s study, people in Seattle say an average of 18 swear words per day. This places the Emerald City in the top ten for metropolitan cities that cuss the least.
Other cities on the list include Phoenix, Portland, Boston, Milwaukee, San Jose, New York City, El Paso, Chicago, and Detroit.
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AMERICAN CITIES THAT CURSE THE MOST
Columbus Ohio skyline (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Preply’s study suggests that people in Columbus, Ohio are not afraid to throw around an occasional F-bomb. They allegedly say an average of 36 curse words per day. The following top cities that cuss are Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Fort Worth and Louisville.
To sensor things up, Preply also included a list of favorite curse word substitutions.
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FAVORITE SWEAR WORD SUBSTITUTIONS
(Photo by Dünzlullstein bild via Getty Images)
- Fudge or fudgesicle
- Shoot
- Frick or Frickin’
- Crap
- Dang
- Heck
- Darn or Darn it
- Holy Cow
- Poop
- Fork
- Mother trucker
- Sugar
- Holy smokes
Preply’s study dives deeper, identifying the places, situations, and ways Americans use swear words. If you would like to see the full study, click here.