If your day-to-day vocabulary has been particularly expletive-laden over the past few years, well, SAME. Between lockdowns, border closures and all the other fun things that come along with living life in a pandemic, you’d be forgiven for letting a bit of colourful language fly out of your mouth from time to time. Sometimes saying ‘****’ or ‘****’ or even ‘****!!!!’ can really help blow off some steam.
But now that we’re venturing outside of our homes and reintegrating into society, using swear words to express our feelings might not necessarily be appreciated by the wider community. However, fear not, there’s a new online game that will let you vent all of your frustrations by shouting the filthiest words under the sun into the ether. Let me introduce you to my new favourite pastime: Sweardle.
While the whole world has recently been captured by Wordle – the highly addictive Scrabble-esque online game that invites you to guess a word of the day – a new, much naughtier player has entered the chat. Sweardle borrows pretty much the exact same game formula from Wordle, except each day you’ll be tasked with guessing a new four-letter obscenity. You can let your mind wander, and truly the fouler your guess, the better. And the best part? You can enter the most depraved corners of your mind without having to feel an inkling of shame. Good, clean (ok, not squeaky clean) fun all from the privacy of your Internet browser!
So why have I become so addicted to this titillating new game? Well, according to science, letting your mouth (or your mind in this instance) run off profanities, can actually be incredibly beneficial for your health. According to research, swearing can boost enthusiasm, reduce stress, act as a coping mechanism and give a little bit of motivation when times are tough. In fact language expert, Dr Emma Byrne has written a whole book about the positive benefits of cussing.
In her book Swearing is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language she explains, “swearing engages both sides of your brain, the language centre in the left brain and the emotional centre in the right brain, and the positive impact of this is far-reaching. Dependent on the situation, profanity can serve as a painkiller, mood-booster or even social bonding tool.” Well, if a doctor says we should be swearing more, then let’s f**king get to it, I say!
And if you’re wondering why you’ve become so addicted to Wordle (and soon to be Sweardle) you can absolutely thank science, specifically psychology, for your sudden urge to rush online each day to guess a new word. Yup, around 2 million people across the world are hooked and it’s all because we’re getting a real kick out of scratching both the language and logic parts of our brain. According to British psychologist Lee Chambers, games like Wordle and Sweardle give us a hot rush of dopamine whenever we guess a word correctly.
Words making us feel good? My English teacher would be so proud of me. Chamber also explains in an interview with Insider, there’s something about Wordle and Sweardle that brings a sense of community by connecting people around the world, all scrabbling their minds to guess the same word. “The fact that we are all trying to solve the same puzzle brings us together, helping us feel like we are tackling a bigger problem together.” It’s true, the very idea that I could be trying to guess the same blasphemous word as my grandma, well yes, that brings me a deep sense of joy and connectivity.
So while Sweardle remains slightly more underground than Wordle at the moment, I suggest you get on board quickly before The New York Times snaps it up too. Otherwise, you’ll have a lot more to swear about!
