Graphic Language: The Curse of the CEO

Chief executive officers' use of profanity in public changes with the economy. A review of thousands of conference calls recorded in the past 10 years shows CEO cursing spiked after the recession in 2009 and waned as the recovery strengthened. The three CEOs who were quoted the most often swearing on calls have all been taking steps to tone it down in recent years. Here's a review of the four most common words of choice: the infamous F-bomb, the scatalogical S-word, the blasphemous G.D., and the derogatory A.H.