poiema Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 We are currently reading 'The Adventures of Grandfather Frog' and the story was getting really exciting so my boys were reading along to see who the greenish yellow eyes belonged to. So, who do you think it was who pounced on Grandfather Frog? It was Black Pussy. :eek: Yeah, I get that it is just another word for cat, but now I have two little boys running around the house saying "black pussy." I really hate that word. For some reason it sounds even worse with the adjective. Normally I would just make a substitution, like I would have just read black kitty, but this just had to be the day that the kids sat with me and read along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 LOLOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghanL Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I hate that word too. So sorry you weren't able to edit ahead of time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 My kids play "Pussy in the Corner" - learned from Little House. I hate it too but just try to avoid it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 We have come across that word several times in older books and poems. I just explained to ds that in the past that word was commonly used to mean cat, but now it is commonly used as a vulgar slang term for a vagina. (I like to use the words penis and vagina, but you could just as easily use woman's private parts or whatever your family prefers.) English is a living language and the meaning of words change over time. Although we will run across the word pussy in older literature and understand that it means cat, it is no longer appropriate to run around using that word to mean cat as other people might assume you are being vulgar. HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDoll Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 That and the character Titty in Swallows and Amazons threw me for a loop during read alouds. Didn't faze the kids, but I hated saying it over and over. And I felt juvenile for feeling that way, which took a little joy out of what was otherwise a great book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I think it's a bit sad when the texts are updated though. Enid Blyton's Fanny and Dick from The Faraway Tree are now Franny and Rick. Give me Pussy and Titty and Fanny and Dick please... and how often do I get to say that? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I haven't run across that yet in books but I'll never forget the day I had to explain to my college roommate that going around saying that wasn't a good idea. She had no idea that pussy wasn't exclusive for cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Give me Pussy and Titty and Fanny and Dick please... and how often do I get to say that? :D :smilielol5: However, there WAS the day we were reading some British fiction book, and came to the part where they threw a faggot on the fire... sigh... talk about perfectly good words being ruined by crude slang -- and having to explain that one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 :smilielol5: However, there WAS the day we were reading some British fiction book, and came to the part where they threw a faggot on the fire... sigh... talk about perfectly good words being ruined by crude slang -- and having to explain that one... Okay what is the old British meaning of faggot. I was about to go googling but decided that would be a bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Okay what is the old British meaning of faggot. I was about to go googling but decided that would be a bad idea. A measure for sticks, as on this album cover: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I haven't run across that yet in books but I'll never forget the day I had to explain to my college roommate that going around saying that wasn't a good idea. She had no idea that pussy wasn't exclusive for cat. When my girls were younger, we had a fort in the back yard, and the kitties really liked to spend a lot of time there. Even so, I explained, they could not go around telling people we had a cat house in our back yard . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 UGH! This is one main reason I avoid these books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 UGH! This is one main reason I avoid these books. I can take a look and tell you which books do not even mention Black Pussy. I have read the books so many times. :$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Then you might want to steer clear of this collection.... http://books.google.com/books?id=gbwOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Check out the presumably cheerful image of Bluebeard, brandishing the sword with which he beheaded his wives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 There is a lesson in the McGuffey first reader that knocks my socks off. I wish I had it near me right now. If any of you ever use McGuffey readers I'm sure you know which one I'm referring to. :cursing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Then you might want to steer clear of this collection.... http://books.google....epage&q&f=false Check out the presumably cheerful image of Bluebeard, brandishing the sword with which he beheaded his wives It's funny, I missed the title the first time I looked at it and couldn't get why you were linking to it. My Eldest when MUCH younger said... "I'm so gay!" Once youngest was yelling screaming happily after receiving good news, (Like Gramma is coming over with ice cream or something similar). I didn't know what was going on since I just got home. I asked Eldest what Youngest was doing and Eldest said, "Youngest is so excited he is ejaculating all over the stairs". I could tell we had better start reading more books from the current century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Okay what is the old British meaning of faggot. I was about to go googling but decided that would be a bad idea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_(food) Still sold: http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/tesco-price-comparison/frozen_ready_meals/mr_brains_pork_faggots_4_per_pack_478g.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 lol, recently my 10 yo and his friend, 9 were arguing about wether ho was a bad word :eek: . My ds10 said "it is a tool, how can it be bad" and his friend started to say something before friend's mom jumped in and said "enough" but really I have wondered...should I tell him? Who wants to explain that one? I have this story from when I was teaching: Speech teacher to first grader: Point to the hoe in the picture. Child: (confused) I don't see no woman in that picture. It actually makes me laugh every time I tell it . Those kids were awesome. :001_tt1: But a reason why I kept mine home, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I was reading ...geez...some book that I can't recall the name of. Mrs. Somebody who has magic cures for kids who misbehave. Anyways, one of the kids was named Dick and I crossed out all the "Ds" and made them "Rs. The Little House books keep calling things gay and queer, so I replace them with happy and odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I was reading ...geez...some book that I can't recall the name of. Mrs. Somebody who has magic cures for kids who misbehave. Anyways, one of the kids was named Dick and I crossed out all the "Ds" and made them "Rs. Mrs Piggle Wiggle! It's the story where the kid won't let anyone play with his stuff and MrsPW has him label each of his toys "Dick's ---", so you really get a lot of it, too! We listened to this on tape, so no Rick for us! Ha ha I found a really funny poem for Hunter once, that was just so inappropriate, in a vintage reader, but I can't for the life of me find it. So sad. Eta:FOUND! http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/200342-landmark-baptist-literature-opinions/ Hunter posted THE LITTLE BOY KNOWS. "I know what you are," said a little boy. "You are a toad. The chickens do not know you They have run away. They think you are queer. I think the chickens are queer. They will not play with me. They run away. I am not queer, am I ? . I am a boy. Boys are not queer. Boys like to play. Do toads like to play? Will you play with me? Do not run away, little toad." And I replied with The Boys by Oliver Wendell Holmes Yes, we're boys,—always playing with tongue or with pen,— And I sometimes have asked,—Shall we ever be men? Shall we always be youthful, and laughing and gay, Till the last dear companion drops smiling away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I was reading ...geez...some book that I can't recall the name of. Mrs. Somebody who has magic cures for kids who misbehave. Anyways, one of the kids was named Dick and I crossed out all the "Ds" and made them "Rs. The Little House books keep calling things gay and queer, so I replace them with happy and odd. But, why? :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 It's funny, I missed the title the first time I looked at it and couldn't get why you were linking to it. My Eldest when MUCH younger said... "I'm so gay!" Once youngest was yelling screaming happily after receiving good news, (Like Gramma is coming over with ice cream or something similar). I didn't know what was going on since I just got home. I asked Eldest what Youngest was doing and Eldest said, "Youngest is so excited he is ejaculating all over the stairs". I could tell we had better start reading more books from the current century. It's been a long time since I actually laughed out loud reading this board. That brought tears to my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I was reading ...geez...some book that I can't recall the name of. Mrs. Somebody who has magic cures for kids who misbehave. Anyways, one of the kids was named Dick and I crossed out all the "Ds" and made them "Rs. The Little House books keep calling things gay and queer, so I replace them with happy and odd. Why? It's a name still used today. Rick van Dyke? Oh wait, Dyke is troublesome too. Rick Wittington? Rick and Jane. Just doesn't sound right? And you're going to have a time of it avoiding all the gays and queers in classic children's lit (not to mention Dicks), and the asses in British children's lit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 :laugh: Thanks for the laugh this morning. I needed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Why? It's a name still used today. Rick van Dyke? Oh wait, Dyke is troublesome too. Rick Wittington? Rick and Jane. Just doesn't sound right? And you're going to have a time of it avoiding all the gays and queers in classic children's lit (not to mention Dicks), and the asses in British children's lit. I don't get it either. :confused1: I don't change words like that and I wouldn't explain a word like thats second usage until they were old enough to have heard it. My oldest notices a few and I have explained them to him but the younger kids are oblivious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Why? It's a name still used today. Rick van Dyke? Oh wait, Dyke is troublesome too. Rick Wittington? Rick and Jane. Just doesn't sound right? And you're going to have a time of it avoiding all the gays and queers in classic children's lit (not to mention Dicks), and the asses in British children's lit. Not to mention Dick Tracy and Dick Clark, or for that matter politicians....like "Tricky Dick" Nixon, Dick Cheney, and Dick Armey! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I feel that way when I see the word "queer" in literature. It rubs me wrong and usually I substitute. edited because dd is only 5.5 and loves The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe but I'm not ready to have that discussion just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Not to mention Dick Tracy and Dick Clark, or for that matter politicians....like "Tricky Dick" Nixon, Dick Cheney, and Dick Armey! ;) That's a bunch of pretty old guys, though. Is there anyone under 65 with the nickname Dick? Not that it bothers me; it's a specific name, so kids aren't going to go around calling random people Dick when they mean something else entirely. However, I can see why people want to avoid their kids describing people as queer when they mean odd, or calling for their pussy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Mrs Piggle Wiggle! It's the story where the kid won't let anyone play with his stuff and MrsPW has him label each of his toys "Dick's ---", so you really get a lot of it, too! We listened to this on tape, so no Rick for us! Ha ha So how wrong is it that any time somebody in our family wants to reserve something, he'll put a Dick's Sticker on it? If somebody is saving the last apple, we'll find it with a post-it: "Dick's Apple. Don't Touch." Just last week, I found a Dick's Washing Machine (Until Noon): Don't Touch sticker. I guess anybody who hasn't read the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle story would find that a little odd... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 The only one I change is "ass" to "donkey." Otherwise, I let'm be kids for awhile -- so it's pussy, gay, Dick and queer all day long around here. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 That's a bunch of pretty old guys, though. Is there anyone under 65 with the nickname Dick? Not that it bothers me; it's a specific name, so kids aren't going to go around calling random people Dick when they mean something else entirely. However, I can see why people want to avoid their kids describing people as queer when they mean odd, or calling for their pussy. I don't see too many young men or boys named Dick, I agree. But I see no need to pretend it's a dirty thing to be named Dick. I confess to having shopped at Dick Blick for art supplies and watched Dick Wolf shows and reading Dick King-Smith books to my kids. Erm. I also sing "Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?" with my toddler almost daily. My older kids have never called a cat "pussy." I do not refer to detectives as "dicks," and I do not think I could eat that dish called spotted dick. It would remind me of that awful thread about smegma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 It would remind me of that awful thread about smegma. Actually the pictures I found of what spotted dick looks like aren't bad. https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1325&bih=935&q=spotted+dick&oq=spotted+dick&gs_l=img.3..0l5.844.2322.0.2506.12.9.0.3.3.0.64.522.9.9.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.img.Q9WiIkTcsQI Once my British English aunt made a breakfast dish that looked like kitty litter with turds in it. It wasn't like the cake you try to make look that way. But it was a grayish thing with whole sausages in it. Odd looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Isn't that toad in the hole? My objection to spotted dick is only its name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Isn't that toad in the hole? Yes, thank you. I looked up pictures of it. But she used smaller sausages and they ended up going all different direction including one or two that just pocked straight up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poiema Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 I don't really mind the rest of those words, not that I use them IRL. I will even sing "pussycat, pussycat I love you" to the kids. For some reason it doesn't sound so bad with cat at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2Many4 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Then you might want to steer clear of this collection.... http://books.google....epage&q&f=false Check out the presumably cheerful image of Bluebeard, brandishing the sword with which he beheaded his wives Thanks for the lead! I actually just downloaded the book and plan to start using it. These books are classics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Mrs Piggle Wiggle! It's the story where the kid won't let anyone play with his stuff and MrsPW has him label each of his toys "Dick's ---", so you really get a lot of it, too! We listened to this on tape, so no Rick for us! Ha ha I found a really funny poem for Hunter once, that was just so inappropriate, in a vintage reader, but I can't for the life of me find it. So sad. Eta:FOUND! http://forums.welltr...ature-opinions/ Hunter posted THE LITTLE BOY KNOWS. "I know what you are," said a little boy. "You are a toad. The chickens do not know you They have run away. They think you are queer. I think the chickens are queer. They will not play with me. They run away. I am not queer, am I ? . I am a boy. Boys are not queer. Boys like to play. Do toads like to play? Will you play with me? Do not run away, little toad." And I replied with The Boys by Oliver Wendell Holmes Yes, we're boys,—always playing with tongue or with pen,— And I sometimes have asked,—Shall we ever be men? Shall we always be youthful, and laughing and gay, Till the last dear companion drops smiling away? That's it!! Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle! ROFL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 But, why? :confused1: Because my boys, especialy my 7 yo, will find out SOMEHOW that it means something other than a boys name and will start saying it over and over until I am insane and I wouldn't even be able to blame some other kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Why? It's a name still used today. Rick van Dyke? Oh wait, Dyke is troublesome too. Rick Wittington? Rick and Jane. Just doesn't sound right? And you're going to have a time of it avoiding all the gays and queers in classic children's lit (not to mention Dicks), and the asses in British children's lit. I know. I just take things one day at a time around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I don't see too many young men or boys named Dick, I agree. But I see no need to pretend it's a dirty thing to be named Dick. I confess to having shopped at Dick Blick for art supplies and watched Dick Wolf shows and reading Dick King-Smith books to my kids. Erm. I also sing "Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?" with my toddler almost daily. My older kids have never called a cat "pussy." I do not refer to detectives as "dicks," and I do not think I could eat that dish called spotted dick. It would remind me of that awful thread about smegma. I am not pretending it's a dirty word but it IS used as slang for a male body part and they go to church with ps kids and somebody there would tell them just to make ME crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I guess I never had the experience of my kids telling other kids a Mrs Piggle Wiggle story. ;) But I can totally get that it could be a problem as you've described it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 We have the old Olive Beaupré Miller Book House volumes, and my girls have always loved its children's version of Spenser's Faerie Queene. So I have many times been forced to read, with a straight face, about how the Redcrosse Knight sallied forth, followed by the fair Una, seated on her snow-white ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 We have the old Olive Beaupré Miller Book House volumes, and my girls have always loved its children's version of Spenser's Faerie Queene. So I have many times been forced to read, with a straight face, about how the Redcrosse Knight sallied forth, followed by the fair Una, seated on her snow-white ass. I remember suppressing a snigger the first time the first time "fat raindrops began sizzling on Shrek's hot knob." (The William Stieg Shrek of course, not a movie tie in.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 lol. We love the Thornton Burgess books around here. The only word I change is "ass." I have a friend who won't let her children say "dickens" because it's "inappropriate." As in, "hurts like the dickens." :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 lol. We love the Thornton Burgess books around here. The only word I change is "ass." I have a friend who won't let her children say "dickens" because it's "inappropriate." As in, "hurts like the dickens." :confused1: Ha. It would be cute to hear a kid say "dickens." I think I've told the story a few dozen times about my son causing a scandal with some neighbor girls when they were fixing the street. He was talking about asphalt, and they told him he should say "phalt," because "ass" is a dirty word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Because my boys, especialy my 7 yo, will find out SOMEHOW that it means something other than a boys name and will start saying it over and over until I am insane and I wouldn't even be able to blame some other kid. That makes sense. Thanks for explaining. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Hey, I just saw this review today and thought of this thread! http://www.amazon.com/review/R23E7RJAWAMKWW/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0811820882&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=#wasThisHelpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 We have read so many of these books and have yet to read about Black Pussy. I have that particular book. I think Black Pussy Cat will be a good substitution. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakblossoms Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Oh my word. If I didn't pee just a sec ago, I would have peed my pants. I am going to get the one about naming all the toys dick and read it aloud. My older three will get a kick out of it. I personally don't substitute words. It is an excellent opportunity to bring up a sometimes awkward subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.