Carlin was also keenly interested in the meaning of words. This quote illustrated that as he listed the ingredients of his work:
Those three things which wax and wane in importance are English language and wordplay; secondly, mundane, everyday observational comedy — dogs, cats and all that stuff; and thirdly, sociopolitical attitude comedy.You can see a bit of that first aspect of Carlin's work in this clip on YouTube. It appears to be from the mid-1980s, and yes, it includes some dirty words.
Carlin was a First Amendment hero.