Swearing, by Geoffrey Hughes (Penguin, £7.99 in UK)

Fashions in "foul language" come and go, and it is not so long since Kenneth Tynan set off a sensation by using on television what used to be called a four-letter word. This learned study deals not only with bad language in the normal sense, but also with cursing (literally) as it was used against enemies, foreigners and rival religious sects. Convict language, rhyming slang, and just ordinary, everyday profanity are all considered in their historical context, going back to Chaucer and beyond. The approach, however, is generally academic and the presentation rather turgid.