All Comments on 'Word Choice'

I have just glanced quickly through your essay, as the English language is my religion. However, before mulling over the rest of it, I must take issue with your remarks concerning "G-string" and "G string". The expression you plump for [G string] will not be found in any reputable dictionary, British or American. This suggests that your remarks are made from personal preference rather than knowledge of what is considered to be 'correct' [whatever that means]. My house has 27 dictionaries of the English language, including the Oxford English Dictionary, which has more than twenty-five and a half thousand pages. None of these dictionaries mentions "G string". Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary - the most reliabe British dictionary [in my opinion] of what may be considered household size, and also the American Heritage Dictionary [one of the very best, and I who say it am a Brit], both specify [and define] "G-string", but make no mention of "G string".

The effect of this boo-boo on your part is like the thirteenth stroke of the clock - it puts in doubt everything else that emanates from the same source.

Do please check your facts before you commit them to [virtual] paper, to avoid making yourself look like a complete idiot, which I refuse to believe. But how do I know?

With best wishes,

Keith, Fortaleza, Brazil

Keith from Brazil makes a very fair comment. In fact, if you look at my writing, I always use G-string. I was merely having a light-hearted rant, as he correctly guesses.

The OED (the 26 volume one) does give “G string” for the musical term and for the ‘loincloth’. It says that the latter is USUALLY hyphenated. Incidentally, the earliest reference it gives for the clothing sense (1878) spells it “geestrings”. Nice to know that my ranter’s instinct was correct; but Keith is still right; I should have checked this BEFORE going to press. Mea culpa.

I prefer reading "cum" over "come". I'm reading erotica and I like the terms to be, well, erotic. "Cum" gives the piece a punchy, dirty feel. "Come" takes my mind to stuffiness. Also, it sends my mind to a place where I don't think the characters would say pussy or dick.

Sure, CUM reads dirtier than COME. But I don't want my stories to sound dirty ─ horny yes, dirty no. As to the idea of anyone who posts stories on Literotica being "stuffy": well, I'd like to meet them. I could introduce them to my maiden aunt.

Indeed, you have raised important, valid points of spelling, useage, and punctuation that would certainly improve my own enjoyment of many of the stories on Literotica. It is gratifying to know that it is important to someone else out there that erotic thoughts are expressed well, too, and not in the way we may have "cum too expect." Also, the addtion of several very imaginative thesaurus entries for the male gentitalia brought an all-too-infrequent chuckle to me.

Oh, I particularly thank you for adding "calipygous" to my personal vocabulary. I will try to use it well.

What a delight to find an appreciation of sex and Fowler in one place. This truly is a magnificent site. Thanks to all involved.

Some more words for the backside:

He placed his rod at the mouth of her 'turd cutter'.

His tongue made contact with her 'balloon knot'.

Her 'chocolate starfish' looked straight at him.

I am neither an erotica writer nor is English my first language, and I loved your article about word choice and punctuation. Thanks for the informative article.

Stopped reading after "a jet of come". "To come" is a verb, and "cum" is a noun.