Mouthsoaping

Mouthsoaping, also known as mouth washing, is a form of punishment in which a person is made to taste soap. Similar punishments that use other foul-tasting (but non-toxic and harmless, from a health point of view) substances include hotsaucing and cod liver oil. For a commercial product specifically made for this purpose, see Behavol.

Typically, mouth washing is used to punish “bad language”, mostly meaning profanity, obscenity, or other speech deemed unacceptable (a case of punishment on the point of offense). Slightly less commonly, it is used to punish lying. It can, however, be used under other circumstances, as can any form of punishment.

When soap is used, the punishment ritual symbolizes the “cleaning of the mouth” from the foul or dirty language—or lie—that came out of it.

Mouthsoaping was a common method of punishment in the first half of the 20th century but has declined in popularity significantly since the 1960s. Historically, it has been practiced primarily in the United Kingdom, Australia and United States.