This is one of those instances.
Words and phrases that sound gross, but aren't.
A favorite off the list:
Futtock
Main Entry: fut·tock
Pronunciation: 'f&-t&k
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English votek, futtek
: one of the curved timbers scarfed together to form the lower part of the compound rib of a ship
Pronunciation: 'f&-t&k
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English votek, futtek
: one of the curved timbers scarfed together to form the lower part of the compound rib of a ship
3 comments:
My personal fave is "shitticism".
And don't forget 'Crapulent'
"Woodcock" is on the list, dating back to an easily-caught game bird. It later became a nickname for people who were simpletons, easily swindled. Worse still, it became a surname with the same derogatory connotation, and in Robert B. Parker's 1989 Spenser book PLAYMATES, there's a character named Dwayne Woodcock, an illiterate college basketball star swept into a point-shaving scheme.
Little doubt Parker was aware of the word's origins. He majored in English Lit and Languages in college.
Post a Comment