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HelpOh, you all are so young!
in reply to a message by LC Dempsey
Why would Dick Cheney call himself Dick? Because for people of his generation and older, Dick is simply the normal pet form of Richard and no one immediately thinks of the negative slang meanings when they hear it. Anyone over the age of 50 grew up knowing many men named Richard who were called Dick in everyday life, and so it seems completely average.
And before the 1960s, the sexual meaning of the word "dick" would have been so rare in "polite conversation" that anyone who complained about it in regards to the name Dick would have been accused of having an dirty sick mind. :) And that goes doubly for complaining about "Dick Van Dyke". I don't think I ever thought of that as being any sort of "bad" name until it was mentioned on this thread.
John has about as many negative slang connotations as Dick does (toilet and prostitute's customer), but I don't see anyone saying it would be a cruel name to give a child. Is Dick Van Dyke really that much more suggestive than John Waters, John Hooker, or John Bowles? :)
And before the 1960s, the sexual meaning of the word "dick" would have been so rare in "polite conversation" that anyone who complained about it in regards to the name Dick would have been accused of having an dirty sick mind. :) And that goes doubly for complaining about "Dick Van Dyke". I don't think I ever thought of that as being any sort of "bad" name until it was mentioned on this thread.
John has about as many negative slang connotations as Dick does (toilet and prostitute's customer), but I don't see anyone saying it would be a cruel name to give a child. Is Dick Van Dyke really that much more suggestive than John Waters, John Hooker, or John Bowles? :)
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Sure, people my age and younger have little access to the normalcy of the name Dick for people who're from previous, Dickful generations. But almost every person who has responded here, qualified their disapproval with exemptions for older men; and besides, it wasn't us who stopped using it. It's not dumb to rule out the name Dick for babies today (you sound sorta like you're saying it is).
[I think I know why Cheney still calls himself Dick... it's not much different from Condoleezza calling herself that and not Connie, or Scooter calling himself Scooter (power statement -- like Cicero). Besides, Dick's no politician.]
I feel dumb for this, but even I, with my mediocre breeding, honestly never noticed the humor in the names John Waters and John Bowles. Thanks for the giggle. I'm sure now I'll think twice about the full name of every John I meet, looking for more potty jokes.
[I think I know why Cheney still calls himself Dick... it's not much different from Condoleezza calling herself that and not Connie, or Scooter calling himself Scooter (power statement -- like Cicero). Besides, Dick's no politician.]
I feel dumb for this, but even I, with my mediocre breeding, honestly never noticed the humor in the names John Waters and John Bowles. Thanks for the giggle. I'm sure now I'll think twice about the full name of every John I meet, looking for more potty jokes.
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O_o?
You never made the John association?! My DH has stated he's frequently gotten port-o-potty jokes (at least, when he was school-aged). I brought up the solicitation angle, and he was NOT amused (I got a giggle, though). ;o) He said he was talking with a woman at work named Regina, and asked he how she thought her name might work on a new baby (Regina is a mn we're considering). She encouraged him to use Regina, saying, "I love my name!" DH just stared at her and said, "My wife is the only other person I've heard make that statement." Apparently, with a name like John, affection for one's appellation is a foreign concept. :o)
You never made the John association?! My DH has stated he's frequently gotten port-o-potty jokes (at least, when he was school-aged). I brought up the solicitation angle, and he was NOT amused (I got a giggle, though). ;o) He said he was talking with a woman at work named Regina, and asked he how she thought her name might work on a new baby (Regina is a mn we're considering). She encouraged him to use Regina, saying, "I love my name!" DH just stared at her and said, "My wife is the only other person I've heard make that statement." Apparently, with a name like John, affection for one's appellation is a foreign concept. :o)
This message was edited 10/30/2007, 6:06 AM
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