Uk based stories

[KeithD]

A minor part? According to Alexa 42% of Lit visitors are US based; 8% are UK closely followed by Germany; then India...

But the majority 58% are NOT in the US.

Just for the record, your post doesn't contradict Hypoxia's assertion. 8 percent (from your stats) is a minor part of the whole.

 

[SimonDoom]

Not enough 'arse' or 'knickers'.

Well said!

 

[oggbashan]

Just for the record, your post doesn't contradict Hypoxia's assertion. 8 percent (from your stats) is a minor part of the whole.

I appreciate that but US users are also less than half. If we write for the majority of users, many will have English as a second language.

US English is probably more widespread than the UK version but both should be understandable.

 

[SimonDoom]

I’m wondering if it’s just a comment to stir the shit?

Maybe, but it's a legitimately interesting question. To what extent do cultural differences make it difficult for the reader to get into the right "zone" to appreciate the erotic aspect of the story?

For me, not much, but with one little wrinkle. I think words from other cultures that describe things that are erotic, like, for me, "arse" for "ass" and "knickers" for "panties", have a slightly comic feel to them. They make me think of old Benny Hill episodes. That may sound daft, but my guess is that UK readers have similar thoughts about American usage. And that little extra gloss to the writing can take you out of the arousal mood. I wonder if that's what the OP is saying. And I'll offer up my question again to those of you on the other side of the pond, or down under, what if anything about American usage undermines the erotic feel of a story.

By the way, I thought Hypoxia's comment was pretty fucking funny, and obviously meant just to yank chains.

 

[Hypoxia]

By the way, I thought Hypoxia's comment was pretty fucking funny, and obviously meant just to yank chains.

Thank you, and it worked.

I recall a linguist predicting that by 2050, 80% of Earth people will think they speak Anglish, and 80% of those will be mutually incomprehensible.

I recall an Albanian shortwave news broadcast of long ago. Male and female announcers spoke perfectly clear, lightly accented Anglish words... but I couldn't mentally assemble the words. Nothing made sense. I might have been a cat hearing human gibberish.

And then we have political and organizational announcements of many clear words that say nothing. The UK-US Anglish divide is pretty minor in comparison with the above, knickers twisted for naught.

 

[KeithD]

I appreciate that but US users are also less than half. If we write for the majority of users, many will have English as a second language.

US English is probably more widespread than the UK version but both should be understandable.

You changed the goalposts in what Hypoxia was posting. That's what I was noting.

 

[oggbashan]

You changed the goalposts in what Hypoxia was posting. That's what I was noting.

I wasn't changing the goal posts, just commenting.

Too many people assume that Literotica is just visited by US-based readers.

 

[SimonDoom]

I wasn't changing the goal posts, just commenting.

Too many people assume that Literotica is just visited by US-based readers.

Wait a minute . . . you mean people outside the US can read?

 

[oggbashan]

Wait a minute . . . you mean people outside the US can read?

Yes, and some of them can read US English too.

 

[Emirus]

Maybe, but it's a legitimately interesting question.

To what extent do cultural differences make it difficult for the reader to get into the right "zone" to appreciate the erotic aspect of the story?

For me, not much, but with one little wrinkle. I think words from other cultures that describe things that are erotic, like, for me, "arse" for "ass" and "knickers" for "panties", have a slightly comic feel to them. They make me think of old Benny Hill episodes.

I'll offer up my question again to those of you on the other side of the pond, or down under, what if anything about American usage undermines the erotic feel of a story.

By the way, I thought Hypoxia's comment was pretty fucking funny, and obviously meant just to yank chains.

The extent do cultural differences etc? Doesn’t affect me at all but I’ve been visiting the US for 45 years. Benny Hill? . You’ll be bringing up Rowan and Martin next! That would be interrrestting, but schtuppid. . As for undermining the erotic feel of a story I think it depends on why you are reading the story in the first place. As you will have seen from my earlier response I agree with you about Hypoxia. But some people don’t share a sense of humour and are easy to wind up. But if you don’t want to wind up then use an emoji. . A good story is a good story whatever the nationality of the writer.

Of the ten stories I’ve submitted (I’ve had one deleted because I want to write a longer version) two have been specifically set in the southern states and although I haven’t changed my spelling I have used American phrases because it, in my opinion, makes the story read better. I would hope that if an American writer has a story set in England they would, for example, use arse instead of ass in the same way as I do the opposite way round because it makes the story better. Unless the story has a specific location write it as you usually would and if the reader doesn’t enjoy it there could be more than one reason.

 

[ElectricBlue]

And I'll offer up my question again to those of you on the other side of the pond, or down under, what if anything about American usage undermines the erotic feel of a story.

You cite "arse" and "knickers" as having an odd feel to them. I agree with the former - here in Oz if someone is an arse they're an arsehole, and it's always derogatory. I use "ass" in my writing, never "arse."

"Knickers" here in Oz is roughly equal to "panties" as the description for women's underwear (Aussie women will correct me if I'm wrong), so we don't have the same cringe that Yanks seem to have on that one - and some Poms I know have the reverse cringe on "panties" as being what little girls wear.

The American usage that throws me right out of any story is "dick." Here in Oz it's, "Don't be a dick" as in dick-head; again, mostly derogatory but a little friendlier than arsehole. But as an erotic descriptor for a penis? No, no, no. Twelve year old boys have dicks, not adult men, and certainly not adult men with erections. It's an immediate cringe for me, "Oh, for fucks sake, can we have some adults in the room?"

For me, "dick" is an immediate filter as to the maturity level of the writing (this is a personal reaction and probably not universal) - if I see it early in a story, it's nearly always a back-click straight away. If it shows up later and the story has already got my attention I'm more forgiving, and tend to auto-translate to "cock" whenever I see it.

Other than that, though (and that one is probably just me), I can handle most American stuff. Culturally, our TV, movies and music have been equal measure from the US and the UK, plus our own home-grown, since the 1960s, so we're pretty tolerant (and aware) of the rest of the world.

 

[Hypoxia]

'Arse' vs 'Ass' is a 'first world problem'.

I visualize some third-world data-mining slave punished by the overseer for not knowing the difference. "What we've got here is failure to communicate," as the captain said. Read, write, say, or hear a word the wrong way and beware the results. Wasn't Nagasaki nuked because one word of a Japanese gov't message was mis-translated? Okay, I guess that's a FWP.

 

[Bramblethorn]

The American usage that throws me right out of any story is "dick." Here in Oz it's, "Don't be a dick" as in dick-head; again, mostly derogatory but a little friendlier than arsehole. But as an erotic descriptor for a penis? No, no, no. Twelve year old boys have dicks, not adult men, and certainly not adult men with erections. It's an immediate cringe for me, "Oh, for fucks sake, can we have some adults in the room?"

For me, "dick" is an immediate filter as to the maturity level of the writing (this is a personal reaction and probably not universal) - if I see it early in a story, it's nearly always a back-click straight away. If it shows up later and the story has already got my attention I'm more forgiving, and tend to auto-translate to "cock" whenever I see it.

Interesting. I don't have that same reaction to it; for me, "dick" and "cock" are pretty much equal in effect. But a lot of my first exposure to sexual content came via books and the Internet, both with strong US influences, and not so much in contexts that would've been distinctively Australian.

 

[Hypoxia]

Interesting. I don't have that same reaction to it; for me, "dick" and "cock" are pretty much equal in effect.

From THE BALD-HEADED HERMIT AND THE ARTICHOKE: AN EROTIC THESAURUS

Penis

see Erection, Glans, Genitalia (Male), Testicles

This list wins The Erotic Thesaurus prize for the largest number of synonyms. Men have always been preoccupied by their members and their language certainly reflects this. Try to think of any other word in any other language that has as many variants.

3-4-2-5, Aaron's rod, Abraham, acorn, affair, all forlorn,
almard, almond, almond rock, angle, anteater, arborvitae,

3-4-2-5: spells dick on a telephone dial.

argle, arm, arrow, ass-opener, ass-wedge, auld hornie, baby, babymaker,
bagpipes, bald-headed candidate, bald man, bald-headed
hermit, bald-headed mouse, baloney, baloney pony, banana,

Bald-headed hermit: refers both to penis and the glans.

banger, bat, battering piece, battering ram, bauble, bayonet,
bazooka, beak, bean, bean-tosser, beef, beef bayonet, bell-end,
bell-rope, belly, belly ruffian, best friend, best leg of three,
Bethlehem steel, between the legs, bicho, big bird, big brother,
big clit, big daddy, big foot Joe, big one, big piece of meat, Big
Steve, big wand, bilbo, bingy, bird, bishop, bitte, blackjack,

No word in any language has as many synonyms as the word penis in English.

blacksnake, blade, blood-breaker, blow-stick, blow-torch,
bludgeon, blue-vein, blue-veined custard chucker, blue-veined
hooligan/BVH, blue-veined piccolo, blueskin, blunt end, bob
tail, bodkin, bon bon, bone, bonfire, bow, bowsprit, box, boy,
bracmard, broom handle, broomstick, bug-fucker, bugle, bumtickler,
burrito, burrow, bush-beater, bush-whacker, busk, butter-
knife, button-hole worker, cadulix, callibistris, canary, candie,
candy stick, cane, cannon, Captain Picard, capullito, cark,

Captain Picard: the bald-headed leader on TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation.

carnal stump, carrot, catso/catzo, Cecil, chanticleer, charger,
Charlie, cherry-picker, cherry-splitter, chicken, child-getter,
chingus, chink-stopper, chitterling, choad, chooza, chopper,
chorizo, chull, chum, clava, clothes prop, club, cobra, crowbar,
cock, cock of death, cod, colleen bawn, copperstick, coral branch,

Cock: used since the ljth century; may derive from rooster or watercock: i.e., faucet spout.

corey, crack-hunter, cracksman, crank, cranny-hunter, creamstick,
crimson, crimson chitterling, crook, crotch cobra, crowbar,
crumpet trumpet, cuckoo, cucumber, culty gun, cunt-stabber,
custard chucker, cutlass, Cyclops, daddy, dagger, dang,

Dark meat: a black man's penis.

dangle-dong, dangler, dangling participle, dark meat, dart, dart
of love, dearest member, derrick, devil, dibble, dick, dickory
dock, dicky,

Dick: in the i8gos, there was a notorious hangman in London named Derrick. Dying prisoners in his noose sometimes developed an erection apparently referred to as a Derrick, a term later shortened to Dick.

diddle, dildo, dimple-dick, ding-a-ling, ding-dong, dingbat,
dinger, dinghy, dingle, dingle-dangle, dingus, dingus diving rod,
dink, dinosaur, dipstick, dirk, ditty, divining rod, do-jigger,

"My Ding-a-Ling" was a number one hit for Chuck Berry in 1972.

Doc (tor) Johnson, dofunny, dog, dohicky, dohinger, dojigger,
dojohnnie, dolly, dong(er), donkey, donkey-rigged, doo-flicker,
doodle, doohickey, doover, doowhackey, dork, down-leg,
dragon, dribbling dart of love, driving post, dropping member,
drumstick, ducky-bird, ducy, dummy, dust cover for cunt,
dydus, eel, eggwhite cannon, eikel, eleventh finger, end, enemy,

Enob: bone spelled backwards.

engine, enob, equipment, eye-opener, fag, family organ, fanny
ferret, fat peter, father-confessor, ferret, fiddle-bow, firebrand,
fish, fishing rod, flaccid prick, flapdoodle, flapper, flip-flop,
floater, flute, foaming beef probe, fool-sticker, foot, foreman,
fornicating engine, fornicating member, fornicating tool, fornicator,
4-11-44, four-eleven-forty-four, frankfurter, friend, frigamajig,
Fritz, fuck-stick, fucker, fuckpole, fun-stick, gadget, gadso,

Four-eleven-forty-four: refers to the purported average size of a black man's penis: four inches around, eleven inches in length. An example of ethnic stereotyping in sexual slang.

gap-stopper, garden engine, gardener, gaying instrument, gearstick
d'amour, generation tool, gentle tittler, German helmet,
gherkin, gigglestick, giggling pin, Giorgio, girlometer, gladius,

Gherkin: yet another food metaphor. See also pickle, kosher pickle.

glans, God's revenge on a woman, goober, good time, goose's
neck, gooser, goot, gourd, gravy-giver, gravy-maker, greencoloured
dick, grinding tool, gristle, gristle-stick, guided missle,
gully-raker, gun, gun hair-splitter, gutstick,
hacker, hair-divider, hair-splitter,
half a cob, hambone, hammer, hampton,
Hampton rock, Hampton Wick, handle,
handstaff, hanging Johnny, hard-on, Harry,
He Who Must Be Obeyed, helmet, hermit, hickey, hoe-handle,
hog, holy poker, honeypot cleaver, honk(er), hootchee, horn,
horn hose, horse cock, hose, hotrod, humpmobile, hung, hunk of
meat, hunky, husbandman of nature, IBM, ice cream machine, ID,
idol, implement, impudence,

IBM: Itty bitty meat; refers to a small penis.

inch instrument, intimate part, intimate person, Irish root, it,
jack, Jack Robinson, jack-in-the-box, Jacob, Jacques,

Irish root: an English expression for penis; Irish toothache is an erection. Both are examples of rather benign ethnic attribution in erotic slang.

Jacques' jammy, jammy, jang, jargonelle, Jean-Claude, jellybean,
jemmison, jemson, jerking-iron, Jezebel, jig jigger, jiggle
bone, jiggling bone, Jimbo, jimmy, jing-jang, jock, jockam/
jockum/jocum, jocky, Johhnie, John, John Thomas, John
Willie, Johnson, joing, joint, jolly roger, Jones, jongeheer, joy
knob, joy prong, joy stick, Julius Caesar, junior, justum, key, kidney-
scraper, kidney-wiper, king-member, knob, knobster,
knock(er), kori, koro, kosher, kosher pickle, labourer of nature,
lad (the), ladies' delight, ladies' lollipop, ladies' treasure,

In modern pornography, penises are often referred to by size: my nine-incher, six inches of love, a full throbbing eight inches.

"My lance of love quivered ever so."

lamp of fire, lance, lance of love, langolee, lanyard, larydoodle,
licorice stick, life-preserver, lifeless, lingam, little brother, Little
Davy, little dick, Little Elvis, little finger, little friend, little man,

Little Elvis: what Elvis Presley allegedly called his love muscle.

little peter, little pinkie, little sliver of flesh, little stick, little
wiener, Little Willie, little worm, five rabbit, live sausage, liverturner,
lizard, lob, lob-cock, lobster, log, lollypop, long John, long
Tom, long-arm inspection, love dart, love gun, love luger, love
machine, love muscle, love pump, love sausage, love steak,

'Tm just a love machine,
And I won't work for nobody but you."
- The Miracles' disco hit, "Love Machine," 1975

love stick, love tool, love torpedo, love wand, love's picklock,
Lucy, lul, lullaby, lunch, lung-disturber, machine,
mad mick, maggot, magic wand, main vein, maker, male
genital organ, male member, male pudendum, man steel, man
Thomas, manhood, manmeat, manroot, Marquis of Lome, marrow
bone, marrow bone-and-cleaver, marrow pudding, masculine
part, Master John Thursday, master member, master of ceremonies/
MC, material part, matrimonial peacemaker, maypole,
meat, meat dagger, meat whistle, member, member for the
cockshire, member virile, membrum virile, mentula, mentule,
merrymaker, mickey, middle finger, middle leg, middle stump,
milk bone, milkman, millimetre-peter, minus a pinus, Mr.
Happy, Mr. Tom, modigger, mole, monster cock, most precious
part, mouse, mouse mutton, mow-diewart, muscle, muscle of
love, mutton, mutton dagger, my body's captain, my man
Thomas, nag, natural member, nature's scythe, Nebuchadnezzar,
necessaries, needle, needle-dick, nervous-cane, nimrod, nippy,
nob, nooney, nose, nothin' cock, nudger, nudinnudo, oak tree,
OF Damocles, old Adam, old blind Bob, Old Faithless, old fellow,
old goat-peter, old Hornington, old horny, old man, old
root, old slimy, old wary cod, Oliver Twist, one-eyed Bob, oneeyed
brother, one-eyed demon, one-eyed milkman, one-eyed
monk, one-eyed monster, one-eyed pants mouse, one-eyed
trouser snake, one-eyed trouser trout, one-eyed wonder, oneeyed
worm, one-eyed zipper snake organ, oscar, our one-eyed
brother, P-maker, paper tiger, parts, Pat and Mick, pax-wax,
peacemaker, pecker, pecnoster, peculiar member(s), pee-pee,
pee-wee, peenie, peezel, peg, pego, pen, penal dick, pencil, pencil
dick, pendulum, penie, penis dependens, peppermint stick,
Perce, perch, Percy, person, pestle, pet snake, peter, phallus, piccolo,
pichicorta, pickira de oro, pickle, picklock, piddler, piece,
Piephahn, pike, pikestaff, pile-driver, pilgrim's staff, pillicock,
pillock, pimple, pimple-prick, pin, pine, pinga, pink oboe,

Phallus: Latin; derives from the Greek phallos, for penis.

pink torpedo, pinky, pintle, pioneer of nature, pipe, piss pipe,
pisser, pissworm, pistol, piston, piston rod, pito, pitonguita,
pizell, pizzle, placket racket, plank, plaything, plenipo, plonker,
plowshare, plug, plugtail, plum tree, plunger, point, pointer,
poker, pole, poll-axe, polyphemus, pondsnipe, pony, pood,
poontanger, pooper, poperine pear, popsicle, pork sword, post,

Poontanger: derives from poontang (intercourse) which in turn is a likely corruption of the French putain (whore).

potato finger, potent regiment, pots, power, priapus, prick,
prickle, pride and joy, princock, privates, privy member,
process, prod, prong, pud, pudding, pulse, pump, pump-handle,

This list does not include the countless terms of endearment individual grown men give to their members. One example is a Montreal man who called his penis Scouty because it was "always up and ready, "just like a boy-scout.

puny prick, pup(py), purple-veined tonsil tickler, puss, putter,
putz, pylon, python, quartermaster, quickening peg, quimwedge,
quim-stake, rabbit, radish, ralph, ram, rammer, ramrod,
range, rat, raw meat, reamer, rebuilt engine, rector of the female,
red hot poker, red rooster, redcap, rhubarb, rig, rod, rod of love,

Rebuilt engineenis with implant.

Roger, rogerry, rollin-pin, roly-poly, rooster, root, Roto-rooter,
rotten meat, rubigo, rudder, ruffian, rump-splitter, Rumpleforeskin,
Rupert, Saint Peter, salami, sausage, sceptre, schlange, schlong,
schmekel, schmock, schmuck, schnickel, Schniedelwutz,
Schniepel, schnitzel, schvance, schvont, Schwanger, schwantz,

Schwantz: comes from the German and Yiddish for tail.

schween, scope, scorz, scrawny piece, screwdriver, sensitive
plant, sensitive truncheon, serpent sex, sexing-piece, shaft, shaft
of Cupid shaker, she, shitstick, shmendrik, shmok, short arm,
short-arm inspection, short-arm trail, shorty shove-devil, shovestraight,
shriveller, shvants, silent flute, silky appendage, simble,
sinbad, Sir John, Sir Martin Wagstaff, skin flute, skyscraper,
Sleeping Beauty, slug, small, small arm, smell-smock, snake,
snake in the grass, snapper, snatch pointer, softy, solicitor general,

Snake, python, and cobra are popular if obvious modern metaphors for penis.

spar, spear, spigot, spike faggot, spindle, spit, spitter, split-ass
mechanic, split-mutton, split-rump, sponge, spout, staff, stake,
stalk, stallion, star-gazer, steak, steel rod, stem, stemmer, sternpost,
stick, sting, stormy Dick, strap, stretcher, string, stringbean,
strunt, stuff, stump, stupid dink, sucker, sugar stick, swack, sweet
meat, swipe, swiver, swizzle stick, sword, syphilitic prick, tacket,
tackle, tadger, tail, tail pike, tail pin, tail pipe, tail tree, tail tackle,
tally whacker, tantrum tass, tassel, teapot, teeny weeny, tenant-intail,
tender tumour, tent peg, tentum, that, thing, thingamabob,
thingamajig, thingamy, thingummy, thingy, third leg, thistle,
Thomas, thorn, thorn in the flesh, throbbing member, throbbing
muscle of pure love, thumb of love, tickle-gizzard,

Thorn in the flesh: a reference to St. Paul's discussion of the torments of sexual temptation.

tickle-tail, tickler tink, Timothy, tinkler, tip, tipper, todger, Tom,
Tommy, tongue, tonk, tool, tool of pleasure, tootsie roll, torch of
Cupid, tosh, tosselberry, tossergash, touch trap, toy, trap stick,
tree of life, tree of love, trifle trigger, trouble giblets, trouser
snake, trout, trumpet, tube, tubesteak, tubesteak of love, tug
muscle, tug mutton, tummy, tummy banana, turkey neck,
twanger, ugly little dog-dick, Uncle Dick, unit, unruly member,
useless, verga, verge, vestry-man, virga, virile member, vomer,
wag, wand, wang, wanger, wang bone, wang-tang, wanger, wanker,

Portnoy in Portnoy's Complaint by Phillip Roth spends a lot of time obsessing about his wang.

water spout, water sprout, wazoo, weapon, wedge, wee-man,
wee-wee, weenie, well-endowed, well-hung, wet spaghetti,
whacker, whammer, whang, whang bone, whanger, what one
may call it, whatsit, whatzis, whip, whip whistle, whisky dick,
whistle, white meat, white owl, whopper, whore pipe, wick,
wiener, wienie, wigga-wagga, willy, wimpy dick, winkle, winky,
wire, wong, wood, woofer, worm, wriggling pole, wrinkled dick,
wurst, yang, yang fella, yard, yard measure, ying-yang, yosh,
yoyo, yum-yum, yutz, zizi, zubb, zubrick

Wazoo: a modern American, multi-purpose slang word for rectum, penis, or vagina.

Penis (Circumcised)

Most medical insurance plans no longer cover circumcision as a medical procedure.

bobbed, chopped, cleaned, clipped, cut, kosher dill, kosher
meat, lop cock, low neck, nipped, roundhead, short sleeves,
sliced, snipped, surgically altered, trimmed

Kosher dill: refers to the fact that male circumcision is part of Jewish law.

Penis (Uncircumcised)

anteater, blind (be), blind as a boiled turnip (be), blind meat,
Canadian, cavalier, end sheath, Jewish nightcap, NDBB,

NDBB: Navy denim bell bottoms.

near-sighted (be), religion, ref, turtleneck, uncut (be), wink, winkie

Docking refers to an uncircumcized gay male enveloping the head of his partner's penis with his foreskin as they masturbate.
_____

I like that an uncut cock is called a Canadian. Or should that be Canadien? But the lists omit cunt-splitter. Tragic.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Interesting. I don't have that same reaction to it; for me, "dick" and "cock" are pretty much equal in effect. But a lot of my first exposure to sexual content came via books and the Internet, both with strong US influences, and not so much in contexts that would've been distinctively Australian.

A basic English primer when I was a kid was "See Dick and Jane Run" - colourfully illustrated with bright and happy children with apples and balls and a little yappy dog named Bob. Something like that. As I say, probably just me, but what you read when you're little leaves a picture in your head that doesn't go away. Scarred for life.

Also, young thing, my half-life is older than the internet, so with me it's more than just culture, it's also the ability to remember. I probably meant stick .

 

[NotWise]

Interesting. I don't have that same reaction to it; for me, "dick" and "cock" are pretty much equal in effect. But a lot of my first exposure to sexual content came via books and the Internet, both with strong US influences, and not so much in contexts that would've been distinctively Australian.

From the US, my use of "dick" is not quite the same as "cock" because "dick" is sometimes used as an insult, and that colors (colours) it's use to describe a penis. Otherwise, they're equivalent. If my male protagonist is acting like a dick, then maybe he has one. Otherwise he would have a cock, or rod, or shaft,etc.

Maybe a straining, pulsing shaft, but only an eager dick.

 

[ElectricBlue]

From the US, my use of "dick" is not quite the same as "cock" because "dick" is sometimes used as an insult, and that colors (colours) it's use to describe a penis. Otherwise, they're equivalent. If my male protagonist is acting like a dick, then maybe he has one. Otherwise he would have a cock, or rod, or shaft,etc.

Maybe a straining, pulsing shaft, but only an eager dick.

The insult is a common thing, then. Another reason in my mind why it's not erotic; but subordinate to my main cringe, which is the juvenile reading. I'd not realised how common a usage it is for Americans until I saw it constantly here on Lit. I still can't get used to it. Shudder.

 

[NotWise]

Getting back to the OP, and since (as KeithD predicted) he didn't explain himself more, I'll speculate. Maybe he'd just like stories to take place in more familiar locales, doing more familiar things. Like, maybe he'd enjoy it if the main character went dogging at the park and found his wife already there and very, very busy.

 

[SimonDoom]

For me, "dick" is an immediate filter as to the maturity level of the writing (this is a personal reaction and probably not universal) - if I see it early in a story, it's nearly always a back-click straight away. If it shows up later and the story has already got my attention I'm more forgiving, and tend to auto-translate to "cock" whenever I see it.

.

I get this, more or less, because it's always been my gut reaction to "dick" versus "cock", except I had a girlfriend not too long ago who liked the word "dick", and when I hear that word I think of her, naked and in bed, using that word, and it resolves all doubts in my mind about the use of that word now and for all time.

That, and that great exchange between Tormund and the Hound about the two words in Season 7, episode 7 of Game of Thrones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K1JsRSp8IA

 

[ElectricBlue]

I get this, more or less, because it's always been my gut reaction to "dick" versus "cock", except I had a girlfriend not too long ago who liked the word "dick", and when I hear that word I think of her, naked and in bed, using that word, and it resolves all doubts in my mind about the use of that word now and for all time.

Under those circumstances, fair enough .

 

[KeithD]

For me, "dick" is an immediate filter as to the maturity level of the writing (this is a personal reaction and probably not universal) - if I see it early in a story, it's nearly always a back-click straight away. If it shows up later and the story has already got my attention I'm more forgiving, and tend to auto-translate to "cock" whenever I see it.

This is where I'm at too--not in a back click sense but in the sense of when I would used the separate words. I rarely use "Dick" and then as employed by a less mature character than my usual protagonist, who goes straight for "cock" and "cunt." I think one problem is that "Dick" is an actual given name in use and thus is imprecise when used otherwise. I don't consciously connect to the Dick and Jane books, but that might be there in response mix too.

 

[redzinger]

Getting back to the OP, and since (as KeithD predicted) he didn't explain himself more, I'll speculate. Maybe he'd just like stories to take place in more familiar locales, doing more familiar things. Like, maybe he'd enjoy it if the main character went dogging at the park and found his wife already there and very, very busy.

I delighted in using 'chinny reckon' in a recent story.

 

[Handley_Page]

Wait a minute . . . you mean people outside the US can read?

There's a commonly-held belief to that effect.

. "What we've got here is failure to communicate," as the captain said.
Read, write, say, or hear a word the wrong way and beware the results. Wasn't Nagasaki nuked because one word of a Japanese gov't message was mis-translated? Okay, I guess that's a FWP.

And with those few words, Strother Martin strode into history.

 

[Emirus]

But do you understand?

A few years ago I had to go and see a doctor. My doctor was away on holiday so I saw another doctor in the practice who I’d never met before. We were discussing my medication and he corrected my pronunciation of a particular drug. I politely asked him if he had understood my pronunciation and, when he said he had, asked him why he found the need to correct me. All I got was a mumbled response probably because he’d never had a patient talk to him in that way before. My pronunciation, of what is a commonly prescribed drug, is the one in common use and I maintained that, even though his pronunciation was different, as he clearly understood me there was no reason for him to make any comment.

When reading a story, even if some phrases are unfamiliar to you, if you understand it why would there be a problem? Why the need to correct the writer?

 

[jehoram]

From the US, my use of "dick" is not quite the same as "cock" because "dick" is sometimes used as an insult, and that colors (colours) it's use to describe a penis. Otherwise, they're equivalent. If my male protagonist is acting like a dick, then maybe he has one.

Which leads us to the minefield of the use of the word "cunt." In one context, it's an insult, but I've known women who use the word for their vulvas without a trace of disparagement ("Go easy ... my cunt's still kinda sore from yesterday."), just as I'd use "cock" to refer to my penis. From what I've read on this forum and elsewhere over the years, the word raises all sorts of red flags in some readers, depending on their location, social class, and generation.

But what can you write? Some readers... even female readers... use "cunt" as a neutral term, others are offended. So do you use "pussy" instead? For some, it's insufferably cutesy, but for others, it's not. And Britspeak uses the word "fanny," which in the US has an entirely different connotation. It's enough to drive a writer to drink. (But I'd probably drink anyway.)

My method is just to use the US vernacular that I'm comfortable with, and not stress too much about what readers think. The fact that my characters are almost always American should clue the reader into what my vernacular is. Similarly, when I read stories set in England or India or South Africa, I'll expect the writer to use the appropriate vernaculars for that area, figure out what they mean by the context, and not go all judgmental about their use of words that don't agree with the US definitions. And that's about all that any writer can do.