Dick (slang)

Dick is an English language euphemism used for a variety of slang purposes, some generally considered vulgar. It is used to refer to the penis,^[1] and by extension as a verb to describe sexual activity. It is also used as a pejorative term for individuals who are considered to be rude, abrasive, inconsiderate, or otherwise contemptible.^[1] In this context, it can be used interchangeably with jerk, and can also be used as a verb to describe rude or deceitful actions. Variants include dickhead, which literally refers to the glans. The offensiveness of the word dick is complicated by the continued use of the word in inoffensive contexts, including as both a given name and a surname, in the popular British dessert spotted dick, in the classic novel Moby-Dick, and in the Dick and Jane series of children's books. Uses such as these have provided a basis for comedy writers to exploit this juxtaposition through double entendre.

Origin and evolution

The term dick originally derives from the given name Richard, derived from German, French, and English ric ("ruler, leader, king") and hard ("strong, brave"), and therefore meaning "powerful leader". This was shortened to Rick as a nickname, which then became "Dick" through the same rhyming slang that caused "Bob" to be used in place of "Rob" as an abbreviation for "Robert", and "Bill" to be used in place of "Will" as an abbreviation for "William". Because Richard was a popular name, the informal Dick came to be used as a term meaning an everyman, as seen in the phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry", and was therefore closely associated with characteristics of masculinity.

The word connoted a person of questionable character long before it became a nickname for the penis. For example, in the 1665 satire The English Rogue by Richard Head, an unsavory character is referred to as a "dick":

The next Dick I pickt up for her was a man of a colour as contrary to the former, as light is to darkness, being swarthy; whose hair was as black as a sloe; middle statur'd, well set, both strong and active, a man so universally tryed, and so fruitfully successful, that there was hardly any female within ten miles gotten with child in hugger-mugger, but he was more than suspected to be Father of all the legitimate.^[2]

An 1869 slang dictionary offered definitions of dick including "a riding whip" and an abbreviation of dictionary, also noting that in the North Country, it was used as a verb to indicate that a policeman was eyeing the subject.^[3] The term came to be associated with the penis through usage by men in the military around the 1880s.^[1]

Actor and internet personality Wil Wheaton has written on the subject of Wheaton's Law, which states "don't be a dick".^[4][5] The phrase was in use before Wheaton's blog post,^[6] in the 1988 movie Heathers for example.^[7]

In 1999, Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith released a brand of matches named Dickheads, modeled on established brand Redheads.^[8]

In 2006, an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force titled "Dickesode" used the word dick 53 times in an 11-minute period, primarily in reference to penises.^[9]

Offensiveness

"Dick", when used in many of its slang connotations, is generally considered at least mildly offensive.

In 1994, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts upheld a school policy under which a student was prohibited from wearing a T-shirt with a double entendre, reading "See Dick Drink. See Dick Drive. See Dick Die. Don’t be a Dick."^[10] The court in this case held that a legitimate goal of the school—to calm a sexually charged environment and enhance the ability of students to learn—made it unlikely that this restriction was a violation of any First Amendment rights.^[11] This decision was vacated the following year by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which noted that students have the right to express their views, and that the T-shirt, "though reasonably thought vulgar", did express a view.^[12]

In 2001, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published guidelines that summarized instances in which a number of media outlets had violated indecency laws when using the word "dick" in a sexual context. These included, for example, the State University of New York's WSUC-FM, in Cortland, New York, which in 1993 was fined for broadcasting a rap titled "I'm Not Your Puppet", which referenced "shoving my dick up this bitch's behind" in one lyric, and stated in another, "I pulled out my dick, popped it in her mouth, and she sucked it".^[13] In the same report, however, the FCC noted that in 1990, it had ruled that WFBQ (FM)/WNDE (AM) in Indianapolis had not engaged in indecency when it broadcast the line "So you talk to Dick Nixon, man you get him on the phone and Dick suggests maybe getting like a mega-Dick to help out, but you know, you remember the time the King ate mega-Dick under the table at a 095 picnic", and a parody commercial referencing a fictional monster truck called "Big Peter! Formerly the Big Dick's Dog Wiener Mobile".^[13] In January 2005, the FCC released a ruling that it would not fine broadcasters whose programs used "dick" on the air to refer to a person behaving contemptibly.^[14] Specifically, the FCC stated in its ruling:

A number of complaints cite isolated uses of the word "dick" or variations thereof. In context and as used in the complained of broadcasts, these were epithets intended to denigrate or criticize their subjects. Their use in this context was not sufficiently explicit or graphic and/or sustained to be patently offensive.^[15]

The name of the traditional British dessert spotted dick has occasionally been perceived as potentially embarrassing, prompting hospital managers at Gloucestershire NHS Trust (in 2001)^[16] and the catering staff at Flintshire County Council (in 2009) to rename the pudding Spotted Richard on menus, as many customers made "immature comments" about the pudding.^[17] Gloucestershire NHS Trust restored the original name in 2002 and Flintshire County Council reversed their renaming after a few weeks.^[18]

Other meanings

The word dick has (or has had) other slang meanings, for instance:

• It is used in the sense of "nothing", a figurative use of the sense "penis" (similar to the use of fuck and shit in a similar sense), as in "Nowadays you don't mean dick to me" (Amy Winehouse, 2008, cited by Green, 2008).^[19]
• It is used as a slang term for detective,^[20] as in "Hiring a private dick to help locate her natural mother" (The Guardian, 1999, cited by Green, 2008).^[21] This meaning may derive from the Gipsy slang dekko, dekker from Romany dik, to look).^[21]

See also

• Prick (slang)
• Insult
• Dick joke

References

Look up Dick or dick in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.