As I spend my lazy summer Sunday in the pool listening to some music, I think of the English language and smile comes to my lips. With that comes the curiosity of how some words get their meaning, and how slang makes it all even more interesting.
For example, Bush: a president, a plant, a vagina nickname, and my gynecologist’s name. (I pick them well don’t you think?) When did the word “bush” become a vagina nickname? How many people said it first before it caught on?
I think of my lily ass and laugh even harder. Of course, the first time I heard it on a song, I had to ask a friend it’s meaning. I have to do that a lot. It might seem a logical analogy to some, but since English is my second language I sometimes don’t make the connection and the obvious escapes me. So, lily ass sounds almost poetic.
The use of profanity to me does not have the same meaning either, some words I like to use, others like the “c” word sound too ugly so I don’t use it at all. I used to say pussy a lot, but when my daughter was in kindergarten her teacher called me in and told me it was unacceptable for her to ask the aid to help her wipe her pussy. I apologized and came home and almost killed my husband. You see…he likes my accent, so very, very rarely corrects me.
In Portuguese of course, we have several words that once had one meaning but now are used in a different context. Think of my childhood dentist for example, Decio Pinto. (And yes, I will say his real name as a payback for treating me so many times without anesthesia). His name means “put your dick down”, I am sure it had a different meaning when he was born, or at least I hope it did.
In English there is “dick”, a penis and a nickname of a person named Richard. It amazes me that most Richards like to be called “dick”, instead or “Rich”. Funny, I think!
Sometimes I am driving around and the meaning of some slang hits me causing me to laugh out loud. Take the case of my doctor, he told me to go get some herbal pills. For a couple of weeks, I looked at different stores and could never find them. I call, and he said they are common; I should have no problem finding them. Then one day I go to Sprouts and ask a clerk, she directs me to the isle and handles me the Kelp bottle. You see, the doc told me I needed Sea Kelp, I did not make the connections and for days looked for C-Kelp. Yikes!
I am sure that was not the last time the English language took me for a trip. Either way I am enjoying the ride.
