Explicit words....which ones

Bramblethorn said:

oh, and there's "map of Tasmania".

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I remember seeing the Sydney Dance Company do Graeme Murphy's "Tivoli", and he had his tiniest dancer with a huge cardboard "Map of Tasmania" in front of her - one of the funniest dance sequences I've ever seen.

NotWise said:

I have used 'delta' before--sometimes with modifiers--to refer to a woman's pubic hair, but that seems a little esoteric to me.

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I think I like the word because of its esotericity (not a word, I realize). It would have to be used just so. Still, it's unique.

LeandraNyx said:

Ever since Comedy Central aired South Park's episode "The Snuke," I haven't been able to use that word seriously in any sexual context whatsoever; but I realize that's probably just me.

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No. Not just you.

After I wrote:


If there's a sort of concordance about what word is appropriate in which context, I haven't heard of it. Same for the male organ. But I'd sure like to see one.

electricblue66 said:

Dr. Freud, you have a new patient! Now there's a slip if ever I've seen one!

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Hah!

But I've seen my share of male organs, rest assured!

ChloeTzang said:

Muff just strikes me as comedy, I've never heard it used by anyone altho I've read it here and there.

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I've never actually heard it used in speech, either. "Pubes" seems to be the word that women use among themselves more often than not. But, again, it might be a generational or geographic thing.

Athalia said:

I've never actually heard it used in speech, either. "Pubes" seems to be the word that women use among themselves more often than not. But, again, it might be a generational or geographic thing.

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"Pubes" is very Aussie, and across all generations from baby boomers onwards.

"Show us ya pubes" could often be heard yelled from car windows by toolies doing blocks on a Friday night - a high brow and tasteful lot (far below the lofty heights of hippies, who were too stoned to care).

Athalia said:

"Pubes" seems to be the word that women use among themselves more often than not. But, again, it might be a generational or geographic thing.

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Geographical, maybe? I have never heard that word used in casual slang where I am in the southeast U.S. when that particular part of the anatomy is discussed. Between women, or from the male counterpart.

electricblue66 said:

"Pubes" is very Aussie, and across all generations from baby boomers onwards.

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Ah. Maybe that explains it.

electricblue66 said:

"Show us ya pubes" could often be heard yelled from car windows by toolies...

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And I've definitely never heard that yelled out. I certainly would remember it if I had.

electricblue66 said:

...a high brow and tasteful lot (far below the lofty heights of hippies, who were too stoned to care).

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Again, maybe that explains it.

Our "highbrow" lot here uses the endearing term "coochie."

clistenovena said:

Geographical, maybe? I have never heard that word used in casual slang where I am in the southeast U.S. when that particular part of the anatomy is discussed. Between women, or from the male counterpart....Our "highbrow" lot here uses the endearing term "coochie."

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Yep, definitely geography - "coochie" is rarely if ever used in Oz.

electricblue66 said:

Yep, definitely geography - "coochie" is rarely if ever used in Oz.

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Ahhh...Oz. The place of lovely accents where certain words are rarely, if ever, used.

Now don't get me wrong, there are great accents from my place in the world (I guess I'm biased since I have one). That said, even though "coochie" is part of the vernacular around these parts, if I were to write something set in the locale, I would be hard pressed to find a way to comfortably utilize that word. I certainly can't use it in the everyday, even if just chatting with friends. Funny looks I would get.

I guess when using explicit words in a story, it really comes down to what's palatable to that one particular reader. Much the same as it is in most any activity, I suppose.

Favorite Words

I love 'pussy' and 'cunt', though they are very different to me. I use 'pussy' when describing the beauty of a woman's genitals, and her arousal, including wetness and swelling. But at the end, after she has been opened and conquered, when she is gaping and dripping with her own and her lover's juices, it is a 'cunt' - beautiful in its own right. I don't like 'twat' except as an insult - it sounds funny. I also like to use more clinical words, like 'labia'. Simpy her 'sex' is also a very straightforward and effective word. I adore the word 'mons', and also use 'mound'. 'Tunnel', 'canal', etc are off-limits. No! In any case, more important than the term used is how we describe what happens to them.

As far as men, at least real men, it is a 'cock'. The word is powerful. Rarely 'dick', since it is weak. A jerk in high school is a 'dick'. A powerful, lust, pleasure, and life-inducing man has a 'cock'. Better yet when appropriate, especially when obsession and reproductive subtexts are involved, is 'phallus'. That must be reserved for only the strongest, most beautiful, and virile men.

-E

Regardless of what we, as writers, like, the real test is: Who is uttering the word? In a recent story I have a variety of 'explicit' words. But each (I like to think) belongs to the character who is using it. Hopefully, it helps the reader to get a better image of the character. Just saying.

SamScribble said:

Regardless of what we, as writers, like, the real test is: Who is uttering the word? In a recent story I have a variety of 'explicit' words. But each (I like to think) belongs to the character who is using it. Hopefully, it helps the reader to get a better image of the character. Just saying.

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I think that's a given, really. The question we're debating (I think) is what terms go with which character's class and background. Therein lies the rub, because a term that's associated with one class or connotation in one area or time would be inappropriate in a different context.

lovecraft68 said:

Sounds like she's just making stuff up to tweak you.

My daughter a few years ago in Wal-mart to a guy about my age who was blatantly looking at her.

"Stop staring at my tits, asshole, they'll get you twenty years."

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Wow, that's brilliant. Great parenting.

I couldn't figure out what ch*t in OP's post is? (Edit to add I just read the other posts for it being French). I think pussy sounds ok to me, cunny is cute... not sure whether I like twat or coochie. Snatch isn't often used? Love tunnel/ canal makes me giggle though. I think the writers here are great, I wouldn't be able to write anything...

I have no problem with any particular word. Usage matters also: "cunt" can be used as a harsher version of "bitch", or it can be used in place of "pussy" or "vagina". Vagina is rarely used, IMHO, as it is too clinical. Some writers like to use cunt as an indicator of the intensity of the woman's orgasm: Where a woman might normally say, "Cum in my pussy," or "Fill my pussy." when he's really rocking her world she'll say cunt instead.

electricblue66 said:

Butt is only creeping into Australian vernacular more recently courtesy of generations who are growing up on a diet of American tv and movies, before then it was "bum" (polite, as in shift your bum) or "ass" (less polite, as in look at the size of her ass!). And, shift your arse out of the way... spelling matters

Fanny causes no end of confusion with Yanks in Australia. And I always bewail the loss of pubic hair - many a young woman looked bloody gorgeous with her map of Tasmania.

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I'm definitely not a fan of the bald look! Especially when it's on a petite, young-looking woman, I feel like a pedophile!

I use 'cooter' unfailingly. Works best at romantic moments.

What we need is more words for tongue.

Geography plays a lot into what words work. An Aussie vs a Brit vs an American would find different words feel different. To a lesser extent, the same is true with the States.

While I like the word "cunt," I seldom use it in my fiction. Pussy is sort of a default.

I find it interesting that so many people seem to have a problem with the word "moist."

BuckyDuckman said:

I find it interesting that so many people seem to have a problem with the word "moist."

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Cakes are moist. Lips can be moist. Females, at their best, are wet.

"Oh sir. I'm so moist for you." would be the last sentence I'd read in any story.

BuckyDuckman said:

I find it interesting that so many people seem to have a problem with the word "moist."

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I once read a blog that surveyed it's female readers about various explicit terms. I think every woman who responded HATED being described as "moist."

That may have been the same blog where the women were pretty tired of "pussy," didn't like "cunt" at all, and wanted to see "vagina" used more often.

I only use "vulgar" words in dialogue, when it is what the character would use.

Otherwise, I try to keep it fairly clinical.

If you use first person, your narrator is one of the characters, of course.

sr71plt said:

If you use first person, your narrator is one of the characters, of course.

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Your narrator is always a voice, whether it's in the first person or not. He or she is speaking from a distinct culture and it should show. One of the things that made Mario Puzo's Godfather so much better than the sequels that Mark Winegardner wrote was the narrator's voice: that of an Italian speaking to a non-Italian and explaining such expressions as "wet my beak" or infamita, thus creating a perspective that would have otherwise been lacking. The influence is subtle, but it's there.

An approach I often take is to use none of the words we have discussed...

"Slowly, her right hand started to descend, the fingers tracking lightly over her stomach. When she reached her panties she pushed her hand downwards and inwards and slipped beneath the fabric. The tips of her fingers had reached something warm and wet. Emily bit her lip."

I've always been a big believer in leaving a great deal to the imagination of the reader. If you leave sufficient space then the thoughts of the reader will fill those spaces and often this is more sensual than anything that could be described in words.

In the extract above everybody knows what is being referred to by the phrase 'something warm and wet' but by choosing not to specifically name it I hope to maintain a sense of mystery and remove any feel of vulgarity. This also fits the context of my story because the character is young, demure and virginal. As others have pointed out, often it is the style of story-telling that determines your word choice when it comes to naming your character's anatomy. Frequently, my style comes down to the adage that 'less is more'. I think this is especially the case when you are describing intimate moments.

There is a delicate boundary between what could genuinely be described as erotica and what is simply pornographic writing. Plenty of people are only on the look out for vulgarity and there is nothing necessarily wrong with that. But when I write I try for something more sensual.

ChloeTzang said:

Yes, pussy is weak. It's in "hot" romances a lot and it's so out of the mood. And cunt is a bit to in your face sometimes

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If one is lucky. . . .

As I kid my family would use 'schwanz', 'schmock' (u.s. 'shmuck') and 'potz' (u.s. 'putz') -- all of which have now become pejorative terms for people, but were simply slang for male and female sex organs.


I like cats, so I like 'pussy'. Its nice, and it's furry - I'm as much a fan of shaved pussies as I am of Sphynx cats.

Hi folks.
Been lurking and downloading for a while; today I registered and here's my first upload and thus first post. Apologies in advance if I get anything wrong: any vB coding, tags, buttons, whatever.

I've given the previous pages on this thread a bit of a read so included are a number of responses.

CeriseBuss said:

I only use "vulgar" words in dialogue, when it is what the character would use.

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I haven't submitted any stories in Literotica yet, but have been working on a few. As they are third person, like the quote above, I use the techical terms as narrator and the characters likely use the colloquial:

"He place a hand on her left buttock: 'You gotta nice ass.'"

"Pussy" is a bit old and more for insults, politics, and cat jokes: "she stroked her pussy," "she had a nice pussy," and "that lion is a real big pussy."

"Cunt" is more like a putdown or back-handed praise: "Hitler probably didn't figure an onery cunt like Churchill would become PM."

I prefer "vag," though I don't know how to pluralize it: "vags" or "vages"?

"Slut" is okay, provided it's not as an insult. "You are such a slut!" she laughed, "You're an inspiration!"

ChloeTzang said:

Now "fuck" is a rather more versatile word that's a lot easier to use....,harder..."
But what do you guys think? Breasts? Boobs? What word is in your mind when you see boobs or write about them?

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or three words in a four word sentence: "Fuck the fucking fuckers!"

"Boobs" is good when women use it: ditto "boobies" when saying it in humour.

re: lovecraft68's response
"Girls" is cute, if her breasts are big enough.

clistenovena said:

Actually, whether reading or writing, I find it difficult to find a good, explicit word to use for male anatomy. My go-to is "cock" but it can only be used so much before the repetition makes me insane. Sometimes, not using any word can work as well. I'd much prefer something like, "He moved between her spread thighs and pushed himself into her, slowly, wanting to feel her slick heat over every inch." versus "He moved between her spread thighs and pushed his dick into her, slowly, wanting to feel her slick heat over every inch." That one word just takes me out of the scene, literary-wise. Real life-wise, however...

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kinda agree

Bramblethorn said:

"chat" is French for "pussy" (in both meanings) but I don't know if that's what the OP meant.

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"I go there for the nice chats."

jburton042 said:

Ed nudges his wife awake, "Hey hun, I'm hungry. Make me a sammich."

Thoroughly annoyed and half asleep she replies, "Yer belly ruint a nice dream, asshole. Tell ya what. There's a hot roast beef sammich wit exter dressin' under these here blankets. How bout you eat that?"

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cute

SeanBurns1975 said:

Biggest turn off was a woman who used no explicit words at all during pillow talk.

"I want to rub your penis until it gets erect."
"You must be very aroused, there is pre-ejaculate in your boxers."

It was so off-putting.

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clistenovena said:

Was this in a story or a for real, face-to-face moment? I'm hoping for the story since there is such a thing as editing. Because, I mean, there are just some things one can't un-hear.

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Would it have been better if she talked in a robotic voice, or like 7of9?

EricasDreams said:

As far as men, at least real men, it is a 'cock'. The word is powerful. Rarely 'dick', since it is weak. A jerk in high school is a 'dick'. A powerful, lust, pleasure, and life-inducing man has a 'cock'. Better yet when appropriate, especially when obsession and reproductive subtexts are involved, is 'phallus'. That must be reserved for only the strongest, most beautiful, and virile men.

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Good point: "dick" is less intense than "cock."

JeanLucCheri said:

I use 'cooter' unfailingly. Works best at romantic moments.

What we need is more words for tongue.

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Wasn't he in the Dukes of Hazzard?
(Though I suppose some of those guys can be romantic.)

Athalia said:

Your narrator is always a voice, whether it's in the first person or not. He or she is speaking from a distinct culture and it should show. One of the things that made Mario Puzo's Godfather so much better than the sequels that Mark Winegardner wrote was the narrator's voice: that of an Italian speaking to a non-Italian and explaining such expressions as "wet my beak" or infamita, thus creating a perspective that would have otherwise been lacking. The influence is subtle, but it's there.

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Good tip to keep in mind.