(no subject)
Forgive me for being crass, but this bears repeating.
I was beginning work on my latest work of fiction today, and found I needed to look up a word in the dictionary. As I handwrite everything first (archaic, I know, but the laptop is a recent acquisition), I was also using an actual bound dictionary (it wouldn't surprise me to learn some of you had never seen one before). As I was looking up the word (I can't even remember what it was, now), I stumbled across a very unlikely definition.
But-tock
-noun
1. Usually, buttocks.
a. (in humans) either of the two fleshy protuberances forming the lower and back part of the trunk.
b. (in animals) the rump.
Now. Can someone answer me this? Would not the second definition have sufficed for both? Fleshy protuberances? Really?
This got me curious. So I had to look up a few other choice words, to see what other manner of absurd definitions I could find.
((OOC: It goes downhill from here, folks. Hence the cut. Avert your eyes and such.))
wet dream
-noun
An erotic dream accompanied by ejaculation of semen. [I am fairly certain women can have these, too...]
trans-ves-tite
-noun
A person, esp. a male, who assumes the dress and manner usually associated with the opposite sex. [The only reason this is "esp. a male" is because we have moved out of the 19th century, and it is now acceptable for women to wear pants. Apparently women aren't nearly as novel when they are wearing men's clothing.]
trans-gen-der
-noun
A person appearing or attempting to be a member of the opposite sex, as a transsexual or habitual cross-dresser. [I am not even going to go into how incorrect and shortsighted this one is. I am not myself transgendered and I still find it offensive.]
sa-do-mas-o-chism
-noun
The perversion of deriving pleasure, especially sexual pleasure, from simultaneous sadism and masochism. [There is one word I take issue with. Perversion. You'd think these people would be a bit more p.c. when it comes to what they're calling abnormal.]
or-gasm
-noun
The peak of sexual excitement, characterized by strong feelings of pleasure and by a series of involuntary contractions of the muscles of the genitals, usually accompanied by the ejaculation of semen by the male. [I approve of the clinical language, to a point. However, although there is a qualification ("usually"), I think that there is a certain implication in this definition. And that is one of heterosexual vaginal intercourse. If you don't see it, please, let me know and I will outline it for you. But the point is, orgasm obviously does not occur only as a result of that particular type of stimulus.]
I was beginning work on my latest work of fiction today, and found I needed to look up a word in the dictionary. As I handwrite everything first (archaic, I know, but the laptop is a recent acquisition), I was also using an actual bound dictionary (it wouldn't surprise me to learn some of you had never seen one before). As I was looking up the word (I can't even remember what it was, now), I stumbled across a very unlikely definition.
But-tock
-noun
1. Usually, buttocks.
a. (in humans) either of the two fleshy protuberances forming the lower and back part of the trunk.
b. (in animals) the rump.
Now. Can someone answer me this? Would not the second definition have sufficed for both? Fleshy protuberances? Really?
This got me curious. So I had to look up a few other choice words, to see what other manner of absurd definitions I could find.
((OOC: It goes downhill from here, folks. Hence the cut. Avert your eyes and such.))
wet dream
-noun
An erotic dream accompanied by ejaculation of semen. [I am fairly certain women can have these, too...]
trans-ves-tite
-noun
A person, esp. a male, who assumes the dress and manner usually associated with the opposite sex. [The only reason this is "esp. a male" is because we have moved out of the 19th century, and it is now acceptable for women to wear pants. Apparently women aren't nearly as novel when they are wearing men's clothing.]
trans-gen-der
-noun
A person appearing or attempting to be a member of the opposite sex, as a transsexual or habitual cross-dresser. [I am not even going to go into how incorrect and shortsighted this one is. I am not myself transgendered and I still find it offensive.]
sa-do-mas-o-chism
-noun
The perversion of deriving pleasure, especially sexual pleasure, from simultaneous sadism and masochism. [There is one word I take issue with. Perversion. You'd think these people would be a bit more p.c. when it comes to what they're calling abnormal.]
or-gasm
-noun
The peak of sexual excitement, characterized by strong feelings of pleasure and by a series of involuntary contractions of the muscles of the genitals, usually accompanied by the ejaculation of semen by the male. [I approve of the clinical language, to a point. However, although there is a qualification ("usually"), I think that there is a certain implication in this definition. And that is one of heterosexual vaginal intercourse. If you don't see it, please, let me know and I will outline it for you. But the point is, orgasm obviously does not occur only as a result of that particular type of stimulus.]