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Help[Opinions] Re: Dick
in reply to a message by Amy.B
I think many people don't realize just how recent the use of "dick" as slang for "penis" is. The first references to it is from an 1891 slang dictionary, where it was probably British army slang, and I don't think it was commonly used in the USA for several decades after that.
Also, it's only when Dick lost fashion as a name that the slang meaning became a problem. When everyone knew several men named Dick, when one first heard the word one's mind immediately went to the "man's name" meaning, not the slang meaning. That's why very few people object to John as a name even though it has two bad slang meanings, "toilet" and "prostitute's customer." When one meets a man named John, those images don't immediately come into one's mind precisely because one has known of so many men named John before. It's only people too young to have known men called Dick their own age who have a big problem with it.
Also, it's only when Dick lost fashion as a name that the slang meaning became a problem. When everyone knew several men named Dick, when one first heard the word one's mind immediately went to the "man's name" meaning, not the slang meaning. That's why very few people object to John as a name even though it has two bad slang meanings, "toilet" and "prostitute's customer." When one meets a man named John, those images don't immediately come into one's mind precisely because one has known of so many men named John before. It's only people too young to have known men called Dick their own age who have a big problem with it.
This message was edited 10/2/2021, 10:16 AM
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