Cum vs come

[silkstockingslover]

hi all,
Do you have similar complaints from readers for us come for the act of reaching orgasm.

After taking to editors I concluded come was correct for the act and cum was correct for the liquid.

Yet, I get complaints and people who saw internationally it should always be cum regardless.

Thoughts?

Jasmine

 

[edwalu2]

You're right, the complainers are wrong.

 

[HeyAll]

"come" does refer to orgasm depending on tense.

But I always avoid that because it gets confusing. Besides, the buzzword that people want to read is "cum." People don't want to read about "come"

Either that or I use the word "came"

People understand "cum" and "came" but the word "come" gets confusing so I avoid it.

I also use the word "orgasm" a lot. That's another buzzword that people like. So when using proper grammar, places where "come" should be, I simply use the word "orgasm" instead.

 

[sr71plt]

hi all,
Do you have similar complaints from readers for us come for the act of reaching orgasm.

After taking to editors I concluded come was correct for the act and cum was correct for the liquid.

Yet, I get complaints and people who saw internationally it should always be cum regardless.

Thoughts?

Jasmine

Just ignore the complaints. This is an evolving term. The way you do it is how most erotica publishers are doing it at the moment. Until/unless you see the term appear in such dictionaries as Webster's Collegiate (for U.S. style) or Oxford (UK style), there's no one who can say they definitively know how it should be.

(That doesn't mean, of course, that this thread won't go long with posts from those who think they can. )

 

[silkstockingslover]

"come" does refer to orgasm depending on tense.

But I always avoid that because it gets confusing. Besides, the buzzword that people want to read is "cum." People don't want to read about "come"

Either that or I use the word "came"

People understand "cum" and "came" but the word "come" gets confusing so I avoid it.

I also use the word "orgasm" a lot. That's another buzzword that people like. So when using proper grammar, places where "come" should be, I simply use the word "orgasm" instead.

Great point...I'll have to try and use it less. Other words could replace it and I assume you're likely correct, the word cum is more sexy than come.

Lol...the third world problems of writing!

 

[sr71plt]

There you go. Just overthink it rather than going with current erotica publisher practice.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

hi all,
Do you have similar complaints from readers for us come for the act of reaching orgasm.

After taking to editors I concluded come was correct for the act and cum was correct for the liquid.

Yet, I get complaints and people who saw internationally it should always be cum regardless.

You have it right. But even if you had it wrong, it's your story and you write it however seems to fit. Maybe you have a seriously low class dude for a character; he might say "I'm cumming!" just because using cum as a verb strikes me as poor form, and that's the kind of character he is.

If there is anything worth ignoring on this site, it's complaints. Unless people spend money for your work, they haven't bought the right to complain about one damn thing (but the better ones may be granted the right to offer criticism, which is a very different thing.)

 

[PennLady]

Great point...I'll have to try and use it less. Other words could replace it and I assume you're likely correct, the word cum is more sexy than come.

Lol...the third world problems of writing!

I'd say on a site like Lit, it doesn't really matter so long as you're consistent.

When I checked on some publishers' sites a while ago, looking at their requirements for submissions, "come" was to be used as the verb and "cum" as the noun.

I've certainly seen both, and as sr71 says, it's still evolving. I have no problem reading "come" as the act of orgasm, and find it hard to believe too many people would be confused (not liking it is different). And to me, the word "cum" when used as a verb looks like someone misspelled it.

Which all goes to show, I think, that you can't please every reader.

 

[Hypoxia]

I assume the evolution of 'cum' is produced by variant pressures from and preferences of writers and readers, mediated by publishers the U.Chicago boffins. My own preference is for 'cum' as a noun and present-tense verb, and some verb other than 'came' for past tense -- climaxed, orgasmed, exploded, whatever. I use other nouns than 'cum' also: jiz, etc. I try not to become entangled in come/came webs of controversy. Just cum, dammit.

 

[sr71plt]

I assume the evolution of 'cum' is produced by variant pressures from and preferences of writers and readers, mediated by publishers the U.Chicago boffins.

I (extremely) highly doubt this scans with the "U.Chicago boffins."

The publishers it does scan with are erotica publishers, which are pretty small scale.

 

[silkstockingslover]

There you go. Just overthink it rather than going with current erotica publisher practice.

Lol
That wasn't my point. I agree with what you said completely.

I just realize I get a little lazy and use the word come almost all the time. I'll try to vary it and use words like orgasm, that I generally only use for females for some reason (when, of course, men have orgasms too)

 

[sr71plt]

ejaculation is a good one for a man. And shot his load or wad will work for a more "down home" atmosphere story.

 

[lovecraft68]

I know there are grammar nazis but if that is what they are focusing on either:

The heat of the story was lacking-in their eyes because they were more intent on word choices than action.

Or....they shouldn't be reading erotica here.

Because that is pretty ticky tack. I chalk that up with the people that have to call attention to "don't they where condoms" and have to lecture authors on hygiene "Ass to much is dangerous!"

What the hell are these people doing on a porn story site if what they are overly concerned with is word choices-and in this case ones that are not set in stone-and "reality"

 

[TamLin01]

Just a few months ago we were having an argument about this at the office. (No, really, stay with me here.) Reviewing the Edit Final of a story, I noticed that Copy Desk had changed the spelling to "come," although it had (rightly) been "cum" in all previous drafts. I objected to this last-minute change on the grounds of (and I quote), "What kind of addled mutant spells it that way?" Copy argued that "cum" made us sound like a porn mag. I insisted that it made us sound only like a publication that can distinguish between homophones.

The Managing Editor, Associate Editor, and Web Editor all agreed with me, but sadly Copy had seniority (also very few people are willing to go to bat for you on this sort of thing at 7 PM on a Friday) and the story shipped with "come," which I'm positive at least some readers noticed. The Editor in Chief later agreed with me and had he been in the office at the time I would have prevailed. I insisted we add an entry to the style guide about this but again I was voted down, this time on the grounds that it was unlikely to come up again. Coupled with my failed campaign from the previous year to convince Copy that "blowjob" was one word and not two, it seems all of my most valuable expertise goes unheeded around here.

Before you ask: No, I don't remember what the quote was. Actually, that's driving me a little bit nuts now.

 

[sr71plt]

Publishers (in this case I've already noted what most erotica publishers have ruled about this issue) care more for a standard read for their buyers/readers than the scattered "I am a god unto myself" attitudes of authors.

 

[TangleLeg]

If I were trying to publish erotica, I would probably worry about figuring out which one is "proper." I'm with the others here who are leaning toward something along the lines of this being a porn site, so wtf?

I use cum, pretty much exclusively when it is orgasm related in any context. I think it feels somehow more erotic. I'm writing for my own pleasure, and when people enjoy it, it's a really cool added bonus. I like cum. (Feel free to take that out of context.)

I'm also with the folks here who lean toward the "this is a free site, they're here for unusual reasons if that's their sticking point," types of arguments.

I can appreciate your question out of idle curiosity as to which might be proper, but if complaints are the motive, I say fuggem'.

Vulgarity is no substitute for wit?
Its a porn site. Have fun. Fuck'em if they can't lighten up. For that matter, it's a PORN site. Maybe a good fuck is what they need!​

 

[Katiecat]

French slang is "j'arrive" or "je viens", which means "I'm coming". German is similar to English: "kommen".

Etymonline.com cites the first example of "come" as a verb meaning "to orgasm" is from "Walking In A Meadowe Greene", dated 1650:

They lay soe close together, they made me much to wonder;
I knew not which was wether, until I saw her under.
Then off he came, and blusht for shame soe soon that he had endit;
Yet still she lies, and to him cryes, "one more and none can mend it."

First English example of "come" used as a noun meaning "semen" looks like it was in the 1920's. The spelling "cum" dates to the 1940's, and could have been to make the word appear more crude or coarse, or could have indicated the writer was illiterate.

 

[TangleLeg]

French slang is "j'arrive" or "je viens", which means "I'm coming". German is similar to English: "kommen".

Etymonline.com cites the first example of "come" as a verb meaning "to orgasm" is from "Walking In A Meadowe Greene", dated 1650:

They lay soe close together, they made me much to wonder;
I knew not which was wether, until I saw her under.
Then off he came, and blusht for shame soe soon that he had endit;
Yet still she lies, and to him cryes, "one more and none can mend it."

First English example of "come" used as a noun meaning "semen" looks like it was in the 1920's. The spelling "cum" dates to the 1940's, and could have been to make the word appear more crude or coarse, or could have indicated the writer was illiterate.

Very nice. Thank you.