"slut" in the news

[Garson O'Toole]

Laurence Horn wrote
> On Jul 6, 2011, at 10:10 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
>> Yeah, but most of those are OK now, so replacements are needed.
>>=20
>> JL
>>=20
>>=20
> I'm not the first to suggest that ethnic slurs, especially the strongest =
> ones, are more taboo now in a variety of contexts than most of Carlin's =
> milder unmentionables ("piss" for one, "tits" for another).  The seven =
> charter members of the Carlin club, if anyone is keeping score, were
> Shit
> Piss
> Fuck
> Cunt
> Cocksucker
> Motherfucker
> Tits
> Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words for commentary.
>
> Note the Broadway (or Off-Broadway) play now running successfully named =
> either "The ____ With The Hat" or, according to the Times, "The Mother =
> With the Hat".  Affects the referent, I'd think.  The philosophical =
> treatise _On Bullshit_ by Harry Frankfurt was #1 on the best-seller list =
> not that long ago.  I forget how the Times referred to that one.  _On =
> Bull_?  All seven, of course, occur quite freely on late-night cable.

Amazon uses the following title for a currently popular book:

Go the F**k to Sleep
http://www.amazon.com/Go-F-Sleep-Adam-Mansbach/dp/1617750255


A New York Times blog post uses a notation with three asterisks:

... as Adam Mansbach's satirical best seller has captured, when you
would give anything for them to “Go the F*** to Sleep.”
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/please-go-to-sleep/


A Los Angeles Times blog uses two dashes:

John Green makes like 'Go the F-- to Sleep' and hits Amazon's bestseller list
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/07/john-green-pulls-a-go-the-f-to-sleep.html


Hollywood Reporter uses two different representations in a single article:

'Go The F to Sleep' May Lure Famous Fans to Readings
This month, America seems to have found its favorite new book title:
Go the F--K to Sleep.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/go-f-sleep-may-lure-202917

The book cover uses the image of a moon to partially block two letters.

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