| Chancellor's link: "Profanity has evolved from the religious curses of Old England and the biological curses of today not only in meaning, but also in intensity. Besides G.D. , the only curses that are offensive today are the biological curses that make sentences, movies, and just about anything more graphic or offensive than had the word been left out."
What is considered profane depends on the hang-ups of society. In the Anglo-Saxon world, where sex is the Big Hang-up, references to sex or scatology rate high.
In Latin countries you might get more of a reaction by insulting the virtue of someone's mother.
Profanity mirrors our areas of social tension. Fucked if I can see what all the fuss is about.
"I wish I was as cocksure of anything as Tom Macaulay is of everything."
-- Viscount Melbourne |