Need advice on adjectives, adverbs, etc… (to avoid unintentional “comical-ness”…)

erotica_n_s said:

Incidentally, “She was not classically beautiful…” is my way of saying “I think she’s sexy, although I have a feeling not many people would agree with me on that”.

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Heat is hot, no matter what the colour .


Maybe, see how it reads with every adverb and adjective removed (ie: bare bones, or more accurately, bare skin) and judiciously add one or two back. See it as adding salt, pinch by pinch, to cooking. Not throwing in the whole jar!

I cant recall ever agreeing with Simple Simon.

Bottom line" Us of NOT opens the door to a million candidates for what might be. The brain ignores negation, too.

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erotica_n_s said:

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I've also wondered about using words such as "buxom" and "full-figured". Do those words imply "overweight", because that's NOT what I want to imply. I'm trying to describe a woman who is well-proportioned.

Also, do words such as "magnificent", "splendid", "majestic", "resplendent" carry connotations of masculinity?
If I describe a young woman as having "majestic" breasts, does that sound comical?
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If you're English, 'buxom' has connotations of pneumatic blondes running around in the Benny Hill show, with sped up music. I have no idea what Americans might think - but then I think 'rack' is what you park your bike in, so they're both as non-erotic as each other, for me.

'Full figured' used to mean Gina Lollobrigida, but nowadays, what with political correctness and chronic obesity, I think it's now just a euphemism for people who can't say 'fat.'

'Magnificent, splendid ..." for me, absolutely not masculine attributes - a tall proud woman can most definitely be majestic. Not her breasts though, that sounds like Mount Everest and K2 - they're majestic peaks .

erotica_n_s said:

I've also wondered about using words such as "buxom" and "full-figured". Do those words imply "overweight", because that's NOT what I want to imply. I'm trying to describe a woman who is well-proportioned.

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Much of this is in the eye of the beholder. The same woman may be "full-figured" to one person and "overweight" to another, because we don't all agree on what "well-proportioned" actually looks like.

"Buxom" tends to imply large breasts, without much information about the rest of the body (although somebody's skinny and buxom might take some explaining).

Also, do words such as "magnificent", "splendid", "majestic", "resplendent" carry connotations of masculinity?
If I describe a young woman as having "majestic" breasts, does that sound comical?

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It might do, depending on the context and overall voice of the writing. "Majestic" and "resplendent" feel somewhat old-fashioned, so they work better for stories/characters who have that old-fashioned feel. Out of that context they can come across as pompous or overblown.

I'd treat them like gold leaf: used sparingly it can create an attractive highlight, but used to excess it just looks like you're trying too hard. (Unless you're Gustav Klimt, and then you can use all the gold leaf you like.)

How about if I described a woman as having "statuesque" breasts?

Also, which word sounds more 'erotic'/'poetic'/'elegant'/'tasteful' - "breasts" or "bosoms"?

So - "her statuesque breasts" or "her statuesque bosoms"?

(I dislike words such as "boobs" or "tits").

erotica_n_s said:

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I've also wondered about using words such as "buxom" and "full-figured". Do those words imply "overweight", because that's NOT what I want to imply. I'm trying to describe a woman who is well-proportioned.
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Just use a pair of adjectives.

"She was thin and buxom".

Full-figured though, is usually a polite term for weighty. I almost always see that in articles or discussions for things like 'plus sized' models / clothing. It can also be used to mean curvy. So to error on the side of caution when I want to describe curves, I mention curves, and if the overall weight matters add that as well.

"She was plus sized and curvaceous" or "She was a light framed woman, but full of hourglass curves".
- Curvy to me reads as across a range. However when I read full-figured, my mind immediately inserts plus-sized and then needs to be walked away from it.

All this said, I very much love seeing lots of descriptive adjectives like this over seeing numbers and measurements. The moment a story tells me something like "She had 28DD tits and a 2" long engorged clit" I've been thrown 137 yards OUT of the story at an exact 43.57-degree angle.

I also don't care if he has a 7" cock or a 12" cock. But if he has a long, thick, pulsating cock I'm there.

erotica_n_s said:

How about if I described a woman as having "statuesque" breasts?

Also, which word sounds more 'erotic'/'poetic'/'elegant'/'tasteful' - "breasts" or "bosoms"?

So - "her statuesque breasts" or "her statuesque bosoms"?

(I dislike words such as "boobs" or "tits").

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"Statuesque" means "tall." It isn't a word to use for breasts.

"Bosom" means a woman's chest. I think the only way it's plural is if there's more than one woman involved. It isn't interchangeable with "breasts."

I am often tempted to use 'chest' as the designation, does away with the terms that tend to drift to opposite ends of the spectrum, either too crude or almost clinical.

And a metaphor isn't always out of place: 'Her chest moved magnificently, swaying like the Golden Gate Bridge in a rhythmic breeze.'

yowser said:

I am often tempted to use 'chest' as the designation, does away with the terms that tend to drift to opposite ends of the spectrum, either too crude or almost clinical.

And a metaphor isn't always out of place: 'Her chest moved magnificently, swaying like the Golden Gate Bridge in a rhythmic breeze.'

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Howard Hughes, you have competition.

I'm picturing cantilevers, but not breasts!

A chest is what a man has, or what you find treasure in. I find it very odd when women turn up in erotica with chests.

Erozetta said:

In my current WIP I referred to differing breast sizes as both "giant milk bags" and a pair of "non-dairy coffee creamers."

Is that too crude?

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It's not sophisticated, let's just say that .

Erozetta said:

In my current WIP I referred to differing breast sizes as both "giant milk bags" and a pair of "non-dairy coffee creamers."

Is that too crude?

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From a current WIP:

“I envy baby,” said Tom, “I’d love to quaff from those fast-food-faucets.”

but, I'm looking to word that differently.

electricblue66 said:

Howard Hughes, you have competition.

I'm picturing cantilevers, but not breasts!

A chest is what a man has, or what you find treasure in. I find it very odd when women turn up in erotica with chests.

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Interesting, good example of local/regional/intercontinental differences. I don't think most Americans would regard 'chest' as just a male attribute, but I may be wrong. Regardless, good to know.

Quote is from a story set in San Francisco, no danger of cantilevers coming into mind, that's the Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate.

yowser said:

Interesting, good example of local/regional/intercontinental differences. I don't think most Americans would regard 'chest' as just a male attribute, but I may be wrong. Regardless, good to know.

Quote is from a story set in San Francisco, no danger of cantilevers coming into mind, that's the Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate.

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I was thinking of Jane Russell and her bra .