ArcaMax

As the World Cup tournament got underway last week, a reader asked me why this sport is called "soccer" in the United States but "football" in Great Britain.

Answer: "Football" first appeared in English during the 1400s as a general word for any game involving the kicking of a ball over a goal line or between two goal posts.

During the late 1800s, several football leagues or associations were organized in England. Thus, the game they played came to be called "association football."

The British soon shortened "association football" to "soccer" by taking the "soc" from "association," pronouncing it with a hard "c" ("sock"), and adding "er."

This occurred at about the same time Americans began playing this game, so we called it "soccer" too. Hey, what did we know?

But then, for some reason, the Brits stopped using the term "soccer" and started calling it "football" again. We Yanks might have switched to "football" too, but we had no choice but to stick with "soccer."

Why? Because we needed to avoid confusion with the new sport we had recently invented, one involving goalposts, running with the ball, and beer commercials -- "football."

So to this day, Brits and Americans have different names for the same game.

Another reader recently asked a much more general question: "How did we get swear words?"

Answer: Ever since humans first started using language, they've sought powerful words to express intense anger, hatred and dismay.

To demonstrate the ferocity of their emotions, people chose words associated with subjects that are rarely discussed: excrement, sex, or sacred beliefs. Because these topics were forbidden, many people were shocked and offended.

For a long time, the most potent swear words in English were those associated with religion, e.g., "God," "damn," "hell," "Jesus." These profanities were so verboten that people devised euphemisms for them -- "gosh," "darn," "heck," "geez," "zounds" (for "the Son of God's wounds") and "gadzooks" (for "the Son of God's hooks or nails").

Speaking of which, when an intake pipe on my power washer fell out last week, a YouTube video told me to find and reinsert the "Jesus pin." I wondered, "Is it shaped like a cross?"

Nope. After some research, I discovered it's so named because, when it suddenly pops out, people shout, "Jesus!"

Today, of course, the most offensive swear words are associated, not with religion, but with excrement and sex. You can even hear some of them at -- heaven forfend! -- football and soccer games.

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Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Copyright 2026 Creators Syndicate Inc.