Maledicta is back after an absence. It's a twice-yearly scholarly journal devoted to the subject of cursing and swearing. The current issue includes, I'm told, "Roman insults, quotes from American athletes, vocabulary from a West Indian men's room and terms of lust found in Theodore Dreiser's diaries."

Two bits, extracted:

German traffic fines imposed for foul language uttered at meter maids or cops (Perhaps this is a way of measuring the seriousness of a slur.):
300 euros for "stupid cow"
1,000 euros for "you slut"
1,000 euros for "you masturbator"
1,500 euros for "moron wearing a uniform" a
2,500 euros for "old pig"

How to Decipher Personals Ads
for women:
40-ish: 49
Adventurous: slept with everybody
Average looking: has a face like a basset hound
Wants soul mate: stalker
for men:
40-ish: 52 and looking for 25-year-old
Athletic: watches a lot of NASCAR
Friendship first: as long as friendship involves sex
Poet: wrote ex-girlfriend's name on a bathroom stall
Mature: older than your father