The "two Beastly Monosyllables"

[Jonathan Lighter]

F--- and c---?

There are other possibilities, but historically these are  the classics

JL

On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 8:45 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      The "two Beastly Monosyllables"
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> In a quack's touting of his cures (1707), he tells of a young woman
> who would "talk Bawdy " before everyone, "nay, name the two Beastly
> Monosyllables before the Doctor and Lecturer of the Parish."
>
> What might the to Beastly Monosyllables" have been in 1707?
>
> Joel
>
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