Cuss Control: The Complete Book on How to Curb Your Cursing

by James V. O'Connor

FINALLY-THE CURE FOR THE COMMON CURSE! Faced with an epidemic of profanity, our country is in need of practical suggestions for breaking a habit that has ordinary citizens contributing to the decline of civility and good manners. It's not always easy to resist the urge to cuss, but foul language creates an unfavorable image, is damaging to relationships, and goes hand-in-hand with a negative attitude.Now, James V. O'Connor-founder of the Cuss Control Academy-offers the first book to explain why we swear and how we can learn to hold our tongues. Cuss Control doesn't call for the total elimination of swearing, just for its confinement to situations where extreme emotion (think hammer, think thumb) demand it. His program for easing us off the gutter-talk highway involves alternative "potent phrases" for classic curses, including the F-word; ways to communicate clearly rather than use lazy language; and tips on adjusting our attitude and abolishing obscenities.Packed with practical exercises and tips, as well as thoughtful reflection on how we've worked ourselves up into such a state of affairs, Cuss Control is a refreshing celebration of the joys of a civil tongue."O'Connor is not ready to rid the world of dirty words. He just thinks less cursing is the key to a less stressful world, and maintains that even natural-born cursers can learn to control their anger along with their language."-Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Genres: Self Help

262 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2000

Reviews

[Jason Keisling · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fuck

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this less for the how-to and more for understanding and etymology. Interesting bits about the secondary messages conveyed by swearing, casual vs. causal, and characters vs. character. Appreciated the personal stories, but could have done with fewer of them.

[Toronto Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of long individual testimonials that are not inspiring but just seek to reinforce the purpose of the book. After a while they were sort of redundant.

[Nikhil Math]

This was one of the first books I read as an adult. It gave off every reason why someone would want to swear, and gave a reason why you shouldn't swear in the scenario. I don’t remember much about it, but I do remember finishing the book and thinking to myself, wow, there really isn't a reason why I should swear.

[Caspar Vega]

RRRRRRAAAAAMOOOOOOONNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEE AFTER A DATE, JIM O'CONNOR HAS A LOAD OF SHOOT ON HIS CLUTCH