Swear jar
A swear jar is a device intended to discourage people from using profanity. Every time someone uses profanity, others who witness it collect a fine, by insisting that the offender put some money into the box. The concept had existed since at least the 16th century and the modern concept appears to have originated in the 1890s.
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.