{Then began he to curse and to swear} (	ote (8872)xato
katathematizein kai omnuein). He repeated his denial with the
addition of profanity to prove that he was telling the truth
instead of the lie that they all knew. His repeated denials gave
him away still more, for he could not pronounce the Judean
gutterals. He called down on himself (katathematizein)
imprecations in his desperate irritation and loss of self-control
at his exposure. {The cock crew} (alekt(936e) eph(936e)(8873)en). No
article in the Greek, just "a cock crew" at that juncture,
"straightway" (euthus). But it startled Peter.