Well, it's National No Name-Calling week, which aims to end "name-calling of all kinds." As you might guess, I support anything that encourages people to attend to what they are actually saying when they speak.
To do my bit, then, I thought I'd change the title of my blog for the duration. You know, go for a kinder, gentler word than the perjorative "bitch" - while staying true to the meaning.
So let's check out some synonyms.
Depending on which definition of bitch you use, these include:
bowwow, cur, doggy, fido, flea bag, hound, man's best friend, mongrel, mutt, pooch, pup, puppy, stray, tail-wagger, tyke
Don't think so. Dog references can be touchy. Let's just say no and move on...
amazon, backbiter, battle-ax, biddy, calumniator, carper, detractor, dragon, fire-eater, fishwife, fury, harpy, harridan, hell cat, hellion, hussy, madcap, muckraker, nag, ogress, old biddy, porcupine, reviler, scold, she-devil, she-wolf, siren, spitfire, termagant, tigress, virago, vituperator, vixen, wench
Wow. That really DOES make one "spiteful, overbearing, unpleasant or irritating," doesn't it? But on the other hand, there are possibilities here. I'll come back to this bunch. Next!...
bawd, femme fatale, floozy, harlot, hooker, hussy, jade, loose woman, scarlet, slut, strumpet, tart, trollop, vamp, whore
Slut and trollop ARE two of BG's favorite terms for me - but I'm not convinced that they don't fall into the perjorative category themselves.
And I'm pretty sure that someone who has sex as infrequently as I do (pause for silent scream) shouldn't aggrandize herself by choosing floozy or harlot. - Correct me if I'm wrong.
milquetoast, baby, big baby, crybaby, gutless wonder, lightweight, mollycoddle, mother's darling, namby-pamby, pansy, sissy, softy, teacher's pet
These are really more for the "weak male" definition. Inappropriate. Pass.
annoyance, bore, bother, burden, encumbrance, hang-up, hindrance, impediment, nuisance, pain, pest, pill, sway, trouble
Hmmm. "A difficult person or thing"... A Reluctant Annoyance? ...
Let's go back to Set # 2.
I like the sound of calumniator but it means a liar. Not me. Clearly not harpy - they're bad; hellion confers too much importance on my mischief; I'm not yet ready to be an old biddy; spitfires rarely consider themselves detached; tigress is cool but perhaps misleading.
Amazon? It's neither perjorative nor deceptive. I am a tall, strong woman. It even has a bookish undertone that suits my personality.
But I think I'll go with... Wench.
I've always wanted to be a wench so I'm going to seize my chance.
Wench for a Week.
(Of course, if I'm eager to be a wench, then "reluctant" becomes problematic but I have decided to ignore the trifling details.)
Now that I have that settled, I must move on to the hard part of No-Name Calling week: Eliminating the word "pea-head" from my vocabulary for seven days.
THAT oughta prove interesting...
What word will you abandon for the week?
12 comments:
Great idea, and wench sounds so medieval. I think stupid would be the one to go - we don't let the kids use that one - probably no good reason for us to either.
Well you know... the reluctance adjective in this case doesn't necessarily have to associate with wench... you could just be a wench who is reluctant about... something... but what?
Hmmmm.... it's a mystery!
I think I could have defined myself as a dragon yesterday, though. Yep... that would have been very appropriate.
I have no idea what word I'd abandon... I can tell you what it won't be though...
Chocolate!
spirited
Crap I forgot to check the box so I can get the follow-up comments!
Wench is good! How about Vixen?
Wished I had known about this earlier. It's only Monday, and I know I've messed it up a couple of times already!
gg-
Yeah, stupid's a tough one to let go of. When my nephews were little, I always tried to abide by the same vocabulary rules that they had. That was one of the worst to lose.
spirited-
NEVER give up chocolate!
Mick-
Vixen's not bad either but I haven't spent time wistfully thinking I'd like to be someone's vixen. Wench, on the other hand...
And it's never to late to join in the game!
(welcome, btw)
O bother! If only I had read this earlier today before I pressed the send button......Do you think 'pig' and 'manipulator' are name calling? gulp.....
OK, I won't call anyone else a pig, or even a dickhead, for a whole week plus a day to make up for my bad timing.
Stupid is very popular around this house too, with the little ones. Also, everything is 'weird.'
Errrr, well, yes. I'm afraid if you called someone a pig, you may have violated the intent of the week.
Mind you, there is such a thing as a justifiable nominative. I myself slipped and called someone a prat, but that is really quite mild considering what word was in my head.
I say we give ourselves partial credit and move on...
I like wench as for the week perhaps I will just talk...
Sir J,
Glad you vote with me. It's also worth noting that all the best wenches are generally found in corsets. Think this could be part of the appeal...?
I am honestly trying to give up MF,,,this would be the week my commute is 90 min each way,,,,
sigh
CD
btw, I love vixen,,,if I was a tattooing girl I'd have to find a spot for vixen :)
CD-
Oh, no doubt about it, vixen's up there, too. I have panties that say "vixen", in fact. (In pink, you'll be happy to know.) But it just doesn't carry the same cachet as wench. :-)
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