A brief history of profanity in The New Yorker

At The Awl, Elon Green chronicles the first instances of various profanities in the pages of the New Yorker.

motherfucker
First used: 1994, Ian Frazier, “On the Floor”
It sounded like a chorus of high-pitched voices shouting the word “motherfucker” through a blender.

• language
• magazines
• The New Yorker