Think of the most taboo insult that is possible in English. Chances are you have one of just a few words in mind. Now consider the following anecdote. In 2016 a defendant in an English courtroom told the judge, Patricia Lynch, that she was "a cunt". To which the judge, on the record, thought fit to reply: "You're a bit of a cunt yourself." Supposedly the 20-megaton nuke of swear words, still considered by some people unacceptable at any time, the C-word does not pack the blast it once did. Samantha Bee, an American comedian, used it on her news show to refer to Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, inciting only a short-lived controversy. Numerous British television presenters have mistakenly substituted it, on air, for the surname of Jeremy Hunt, who was for a time culture secretary. (Anticipating the "c" in "culture" may have been responsible for early slips of this type, but they mysteriously continued after Mr Hunt became health secretary.) None of the presenters has been disciplined.
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