Swear jar

Description

A swear jar is intended to discourage people from using profanity. When a person is witnessed using profanity, the witness assesses a fine by insisting that the offender put some money into the box. The container may be made of glass, porcelain, or metal, and may have a lid with a slot. A swear jar might not be a physical object; instead, a notional swear jar is referred to in order to indicate someone's use of profanity has been noted.

From time to time, the accumulated money may be used, often for some agreed-upon personal purpose or contributed to charity.

History

Though not explicitly named a swear jar, the concept had existed since the 16th century: The modern concept appears to have originated in the 1890s, under the name swear box, and to have gained popularity in the 1910s. The term swear jar appears to have been invented in the 1980s in the United States, and is not documented in Great Britain; an early mention of a swear jar is in the 1988 American movie Moving. The concept of swear box or jar became very popular in the 1980s.

Commercial production

Most swear jars are homemade, however tins and boxes specifically designed for the purpose are marketed commercially, some of which have a "scale of charges" printed on them. Various materials are used to produce them. Earlier designs were commonly porcelain. Modern versions, often glass, are available online via eBay, other shopping websites, and even sites dedicated to selling only swear jars.

References

References

1. "Swearing and Bad Language". BYU.
2. (14 November 2017). "Panorama Archive: Dimbleby's swear-box". BBC.
3. Plaut, Ethan R.. (2015-11-05). "Technologies of avoidance: The swear jar and the cell phone". First Monday.
4. ''Forest and Stream'', March 20, 1890, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hEchAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA176. 176].
5. Thomas J. Henry, ''Claude Garton: A Story of Dunburgh University'', 1897, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFJEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA167 p. 167].
6. Google nGrams [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=swear+box%3Aeng_us_2012%2Cswear+jar%3Aeng_us_2012%2Cswear+box%3Aeng_gb_2012%2Cswear+jar%3Aeng_gb_2012&year_start=1850&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cswear%20box%3Aeng_us_2012%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cswear%20jar%3Aeng_us_2012%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cswear%20box%3Aeng_gb_2012%3B%2Cc0 comparison of swear box and swear jar in the US and in GB].