One of the countless anecdotes regarding my hero, Samuel Johnson, is about a lady complimenting him for leaving out “bad, low and despicable words” when compiling his great 1755 dictionary.

“No, Madam, I hope I have not daubed my fingers,” he replied, as if including dirty words would actually soil his hands. But being Johnson, he had to add, “I find, however, that you have been looking for them.”

No crime there. While most adults don’t search for swears, we do notice them — that’s one reason they’re used, as intensifiers, to draw attention, language’s yellow highlighter. Consider a headline in Monday’s Sun-Times, “PRITZKER TELLS TRUMP TO ‘F- - - ALL THE WAY OFF’ IN VIRAL VIDEO.”

If only more people did that.

Opinion

This might be a good moment to register my personal objection to tho

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