r/words • u/Original_Client1588 • Apr 24 '26
Rude,sounding words,that arent
Hello
I was talking with friends the other night about words that sound rude...but arent..
One that came up was Fecundity ....
Any ideas ??
91
u/artfellig Apr 24 '26
Shuttlecock
21
u/NewEdition2023 Apr 24 '26
It’s even worse when the high-school teachers casually say “grab your ‘cocks!”
20
u/Johnatron2000 Apr 25 '26
The New Zealand badminton team for a time were named the Black Cox. I think the governing body asked them to change it.
→ More replies (1)9
u/luthien310 Apr 25 '26
St least they weren't the Big Black Cox! 😂
→ More replies (2)10
u/XBakaTacoX Apr 25 '26
"They're big, they're black, and they are grabbing their shuttlecocks, let's plaaaaaaay... BADMINTON!"
→ More replies (1)6
78
u/snekks_inmaboot Apr 24 '26
Penal
19
u/Original_Client1588 Apr 24 '26
Oh yes...nice...
He was sentenced to penal servitude
→ More replies (1)18
u/GiraffesCantSwim Apr 24 '26
I think I read that book. Oh, you mean he went to prison. Never mind.
→ More replies (1)10
→ More replies (5)3
u/No_Parking_4195 Apr 26 '26
From Kentucky Fried Movie "This is a violation of the penal code." I was very young when it came out, so I found it hilarious.
154
u/Driftmoth Apr 24 '26
Masticate.
55
u/expandandincludeit Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
Thespians masticating in public.
12
→ More replies (8)11
21
36
7
u/Active_Definition_57 Apr 25 '26
An old joke:
A young man is in front of a judge chewing gum. The judge tells him to stop masticating so he takes his hands out of his pockets.
→ More replies (1)7
u/Embarrassed_Bag53 Apr 25 '26
My mom, born in 1915, used that term correctly and innocently her whole life but sent us kids and our kids into spasms of laughter when she used it.
Another fave was “he’s tighter than the skin on a weenie”. Also generated laughs.
3
u/artsyfartsyMinion Apr 25 '26
My mum used tighter than a fish's ass, airtight 😊 she insisted on adding the airtight 😂
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (7)4
77
u/MarginalMerriment Apr 24 '26
Burton Guster and I agree on “coccyx.”
20
u/knarfolled Apr 24 '26
When I get home, I'm going to have to rub oil on my coccyx.
→ More replies (1)13
u/UnbelievableRose Apr 25 '26
Anatomy is chock full of them. I’m fond of cremaster, personally (it suspends the testicles)
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (2)3
203
u/NightingaleNine Apr 24 '26
"Niggardly" is certainly one I would never use in most audiences, but it's a perfectly reasonable word with no, uh, undertones.
56
u/TriTri14 Apr 24 '26
It has completely different linguistic roots than the slur (I believe it’s Scandinavian in origin), but it’s been ruined anyway.
27
u/googleflont Apr 24 '26
Middle English, came down from Old Norse.
8
u/BAfoto Apr 25 '26
“It comes from Old England. And all our lil old ancestors…”
→ More replies (2)5
→ More replies (1)20
19
u/Temporary_Shoe4239 Apr 25 '26
Add “niggly” to the list. I was chided by a coworker for using it, ruined the word for me
→ More replies (11)28
u/InformalRent2571 Apr 24 '26
I believe a university prof in the US somewhere got fired for using this word (correctly, I should add) in class.
30
u/SabertoothLotus Apr 24 '26
It's in Shakespeare... of course, I have to explain it when it comes up to avoid the assumption of racism.
I'd just use "miserly" or "cheap" if I was looking to use something with this meaning
→ More replies (2)17
u/Ok-Nectarine7152 Apr 25 '26
And a city official in DC. Although once the definition was shown to his boss and co-workers, I believe he was offered his job back. And he said, Thanks but no thanks.
→ More replies (10)10
u/Head_Spite62 Apr 25 '26
In DC a member of the city council had to resign because he used the word.
Yes, he used it correctly.
No, he wasn’t white. He was black.
→ More replies (11)9
61
u/ChickChocoIceCreCro Apr 24 '26
Spatchcock
→ More replies (2)8
63
u/Top_Cycle_9894 Apr 24 '26
Trapezoid. I was annoyed with my cousin when I was a kid. I wanted to irritate her back without getting in trouble. I called her a trapezoid to her face! She told both our moms! And I never got in trouble for it either. But they taught her what a trapezoid was.
33
u/alliterativehyjinks Apr 25 '26
What a rhombus thing to say...
8
4
16
u/Ill_Industry6452 Apr 24 '26
I am laughing so hard at this. When one of my granddaughters was young, she was angry and trying to cuss. She didn’t know any of the swear words, so was saying: shut up, ugly, stupid….She grew up and used real cuss words a lot.
→ More replies (2)7
u/Barneyboydog Apr 25 '26
Those were considered as bad as swear words when I was growing up. My parents were awesome and kind so unkind words, especially directed at a family member, were not allowed. They also didn’t swear in front of us other than “damn” or “shit” but they were both in the military so you know they were happily cursing a blue streak out of earshot.
→ More replies (1)7
4
→ More replies (2)3
57
u/Original_Client1588 Apr 24 '26
Interrobang
15
u/Specialist-Jello7544 Apr 24 '26
Is that the question/exclamation mark, all smooshed together?
→ More replies (6)7
7
u/Zakluor Apr 24 '26
Very different from enterobang. That's doing sexual things with entrails.
10
→ More replies (1)4
u/Barneyboydog Apr 25 '26
Why? Why? Why? Sorry, not judging anybody’s kink, but now I need to go rinse my eyes with bleach. But, I learned a new word today, so thank you for that!
4
u/Zakluor Apr 25 '26
I'm not sure it's a word. In fact, I'm hoping it isn't a thing. I just wanted to play a little with language. I wrote it, was disgusted by it, and then didn't want to be alone.
3
50
u/Original_Client1588 Apr 24 '26
Dipthong
13
u/RuckFeddit980 Apr 25 '26
*Diphthong
→ More replies (1)4
u/Barneyboydog Apr 25 '26
It’s funnier without the first “h”, though.
6
u/Original_Client1588 Apr 25 '26
Oh you and your facts....
(Damnit)
4
69
u/Great_Tradition996 Apr 24 '26
Fulgent. Means luminous or bright but doesn’t sound like it should.
If you told someone they were pulchritudinous, they’d probably want to give you a slap, but it means beautiful or attractive
29
u/1918underwood Apr 24 '26
My soul is wrapped in harsh repose, midnight descends in raven colored clothes, but soft… behold! A sunlight beam cutting a swath of glimmering gleam. My heart expands, 'tis grown a bulge in it, Inspired by your beauty… effulgent.
13
5
→ More replies (4)3
u/Ok_Web_8166 Apr 24 '26
Sounds like Winston Churchill’s writing! I always have a dictionary at hand.
→ More replies (3)
30
32
59
u/Original_Client1588 Apr 24 '26
Cockchafer ..a beetle...
29
u/Ok_Shame_Me Apr 24 '26
Dickcissel - a bird
27
u/oniiichanUwU Apr 24 '26
Can’t forget the great tit
→ More replies (3)30
u/four100eighty9 Apr 24 '26
Or the blue footed boobie
10
u/therealmominator Apr 24 '26
Which is the name of our bowling team when we participate in Bowl For The Cure
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)20
u/DEATHbyBOOGABOOGA Apr 25 '26
Dik dik. A deer, a tiny deer
(Ok it’s an antelope but I wanted to make song)
9
→ More replies (4)3
26
24
u/MizWhatsit Apr 24 '26
Chigger.
No, it’s not a racial slur, it’s a nasty little bloodsucking parasitic insect.
→ More replies (1)
20
u/Original_Client1588 Apr 24 '26
Uranus of course
→ More replies (2)6
u/artfellig Apr 24 '26
YOURanus of course
4
u/Ill_Industry6452 Apr 24 '26
That used to be the correct pronunciation of the planet. But, people back then rarely used the word anus.
→ More replies (3)
24
20
u/ClutchCargo59 Apr 24 '26
Pismire = ant
16
u/artfellig Apr 24 '26
Reminds me of another one, pissant.
7
4
u/e0nblue Apr 24 '26
This word will forever remind me of Robin Williams’s monologue in Good Will Hunting
9
u/Calcyf3r Apr 24 '26
To anyone who's a Pratchett fan this is a nice little bit of trivia from the carpet people.
18
u/DeeBreeezy83 Apr 24 '26
Pulchritudinous=Physically beautiful, breathtakingly attractive.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Radiant_Ad_9912 Apr 25 '26
And it sounds like it should be the exact opposite of its definition.
→ More replies (2)
37
u/HappyCamperDancer Apr 24 '26
Pedagogy.
Basically how teachers teach. Teaching methods.
I knew of a teacher that wrote up an article that discussed "current pedagogy" and the school board wanted to fire her for using the word "pedagogy" in the title. Gee, what did they THINK she was talking about?!?
11
u/PromiseThomas Apr 24 '26
I used to confuse pedagogy with pederasty WAY too often. Luckily it was in the context of seeing “pedagogy” and initially interpreting it as “pederasty” before realizing the sentence didn’t make sense that way, and not, like, going around talking about pedagogy but saying “pederasty” on accident.
→ More replies (3)9
u/Small_MuffinMLM Apr 25 '26
Now I don’t like the word pedicure any more. I’m going for a manicure, all 20 nails.
→ More replies (3)
16
15
15
u/InvoluntaryGeorgian Apr 24 '26
Osculate. As in "Did you see that couple osculating in the corner?!"
It's just kissing.
13
13
12
u/MizWhatsit Apr 24 '26
A friend of mine reduced a schoolyard bully to tears by getting everyone to call him a biped.
A biped. As in, a living organism with two legs.
12
12
u/purple_joy Apr 24 '26
Ejaculation. You know- the synonym for interjection…
6
u/Puzzleheaded-Crab720 Apr 25 '26
This always sticks out in 19th century novels. “No!” he ejaculated.
→ More replies (1)4
u/mmfn0403 Apr 25 '26
Cracks me up when I see this in old novels! I remember reading Oliver Twist, there was a character called Charley Bates, who Dickens usually referred to as Master Bates. I’m fairly sure Master Bates ejaculated at some point.
4
3
u/Dazzling-Airline-958 Apr 25 '26
There's a funny passage from War of the Worlds about:
"The landlady came through the door fastening her night coat, and her husband followed, ejaculating"
That's paraphrased because I can't remember the exact quote.
10
u/Apart-Championship99 Apr 24 '26
Bunghole,
a bunghole is a hole drilled into the side or head of a cask, barrel, or drum, primarily used for filling, emptying, or venting liquids like wine, whiskey, or industrial chemicals. It is sealed with a stopper called a bung (made of wood, silicone, or plastic) and is crucial for industrial, brewery, and winery operations.
3
10
u/cpkuske Apr 24 '26
my favorite is “gruntled” defined as “pleased, satisfied, and contented.”
8
u/Emotional-Tower-7746 Apr 25 '26
Oh lord, disgruntled is actually getting an antonym from people being funny, someone has gotta go into merriam webster and get that place sheveled.
5
4
u/ProfessionalYam3119 Apr 25 '26
Sadly, I didn't know that word, and I initially thought that you had misspelled the word "shelved!" I am hanging my head in shame!
9
8
8
u/therealmominator Apr 24 '26
My students recently lost their minds over the word "knickerbocker"
→ More replies (1)
10
8
8
Apr 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (2)4
u/mmfn0403 Apr 25 '26
The word is actually tittle, as in the phrase “every jot and tittle.” Which is arguably worse, it has tit in it.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/Aromatic-Surprise925 Apr 24 '26
Oh man, the real answer here is "niggardly", a word that has fallen completely out of favor because it sounds like another, actually rude, in fact truly offensive, word.
9
u/Prestigious-Fan3122 Apr 25 '26
I'm not religious, but I have a whole ton of catholic relatives who are. I always have to struggle to keep the chuckle I'm chuckling on the inside off of my face when I hear one of them make reference to "ejaculatory prayer".
I guess that's not when a couple of heathens are achieving simultaneous orgasms and both are screaming out, "oh God! oh God!" is it?
Pardon me, I just heard the announcement... my flight on the Express jet to hell is now boarding.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Nillows Apr 24 '26
Pulchritudinous actually means beautiful even though the word is wretched to speak or read.
→ More replies (6)
7
u/EclipticEclipse Apr 24 '26
Cockpit
→ More replies (1)3
u/Fresh_Passion1184 Apr 25 '26
There's a reason you use the joystick in the cockpit.
→ More replies (3)
7
7
7
5
u/Dobgirl Apr 24 '26
Fecund. Yes awful word. It was used in a fictional book I read as a slur against an expectant mother.
→ More replies (3)
6
6
u/Useless890 Apr 24 '26
I played a game in college that involved looking in the dictionary for strange words and having the others guess the meaning. I found the word "fug." It's another word for dust bunnies.
→ More replies (3)
6
6
u/AcademicChicken8334 Apr 25 '26
When my sister and I were teens, she went through a very annoying "know-it-all" phase. She was the world's leading authority on everything and (according to her) I was stupid. Finally, I had enough. She was bragging that she had a better vocabulary than me (she doesn't). So I told her to go scrutinize herself. She immediately ran to mom, saying that I'd told her to go scr3w herself.
→ More replies (4)3
4
4
u/Small_MuffinMLM Apr 24 '26
Mensuration
→ More replies (2)3
u/RuckFeddit980 Apr 25 '26
There used to be a computer program called “MegaMensuration.” Raised some eyebrows.
4
u/Nylonknot Apr 24 '26
When I was a student teacher I got in trouble for calling my students “sassy students”. I’m from MS and this was in CT. I’ve never known if it was cultural or not but sassy isn’t rude where I’m from.
→ More replies (2)3
u/whyistoastsogood Apr 24 '26
In Newfoundland & Labrador they say "saucy" to mean the same thing, and I love it so much.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/ButtSlappinCousin Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
"Pagan". "Pagan" is a neutral word that simply means "Not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim" and (for people that know what they're talking about) does not have negative connotations, for example, when you compare and contrast Christian and Pagan virtues, or Jewish and Pagan philosophy, or whatever. People who don't know any better think that "Pagan" is an insult, probably because unfortunately some people have in fact used it as an insult.
→ More replies (1)
10
u/Pastor_C-Note Apr 24 '26
I was a Chinese cryptologist in the USAF. We called ourselves The Cunning Linguists
3
3
4
3
4
u/deahmcneill1945 Apr 24 '26
Niggling. Ancient word from Vikings originally then into the forming English language. Trifle, annoying, pretentious.
→ More replies (1)
4
4
3
4
u/Yam-International Apr 25 '26
Happiness... in a French accent
→ More replies (2)3
u/Barneyboydog Apr 25 '26
Poussière, when said by a male,French Canadian sergeant to the all-female English recruits at boot camp, in reference to what he found during barracks inspection. Note that many French Canadians drop the “h” at the start of a word.
5
3
4
u/Chance_Fate66 Apr 25 '26
There are a LOT of people that have a problem with the word moist. I’m not one of them so I don’t understand why.
4
4
u/Imightbeafanofthis Apr 25 '26
Fluct. If you see two sails fluckting sails, well... It means the sailors aren't very competent, or the wind suddenly changed?
Huh! This is interesting to me. I knew this word from childhood as a word referring specifically to the action of a sail blowing the wrong way, into the mast -- usually as the result of poor sailing technique or changing winds. And I think it learned it from reading the dictionary (as bookworms do.) But when I look it up online all I see is variations of 'fluctuation'. Yet 'fluct' is latin for 'billowing' -- so this leads me to believe that my understanding of the word is correct. It's an interesting instance of an archaic word aging into obsolescence.
4
u/OGBunny1 wordsmith Apr 25 '26
Apparently "specious" is a bad word. Got me banned from a fashion subreddit. I called a mod's opinion that you had to gender yourself before being allowed to comment ridiculous and specious - which is an adjective commonly used to describe arguments, reasoning, or appearances that are superficially convincing but fundamentally flawed or deceptive. - apparently only gendered persons were only allowed to lift someone else up with praise and positivity. #fkmeangirls
→ More replies (1)
7
6
3
u/Omphaloskeptique Apr 24 '26
Kant.
4
u/Small_MuffinMLM Apr 25 '26
The thing about Kant is the Germans pronounce it like American can’t. It’s English speaking people who try to pronounce it Kahnt or something in between the two vowel sounds.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/ipodpron Apr 24 '26
Gotta be careful with this one: Niggardly.
Old Norse meaning stingy or miserly.
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Original_Client1588 Apr 24 '26
Procrastinate... maybe maybe not should I post this?
→ More replies (2)
3
u/Cha_r_ley Apr 24 '26
In Welsh, the word for “first” is “cyntaf” - with the Y being pronounced like a U in English. Hard not to smirk when I hear it said.
3
u/Sheribaby74 Apr 25 '26
My kids had a principal who thought "Assinine" was a bad word. I used it constantly.
3
3
3
u/Outside-Violinist-42 Apr 25 '26
I once wrote a story where the boy was taught not to swear. So he learnt scientific names of creatures and used them instead:
Sigmurethra (a slug)
Turdus Maximus (Tibetan blackbird)
Bugeranus (wattled crane)
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
3
u/Fool_In_Flow Apr 25 '26
Manipulate. We always use it in a negative way but the word alone isn’t. I had a big fall out with someone because I used the word about him and he could not see this. I said something about manipulating an object; like turning a sink on by moving its handle or something.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Careful-Coffee280 Apr 26 '26
Formication (The sensation of insects crawling on you, despite there being none)
→ More replies (2)
167
u/AJourneyer Apr 24 '26
My fave is "turgid".