# Cow Teats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657 "2018-07-10T15:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/21 "2018-07-11T13:58:54Z")
Obligatory _Silver Streak_ reference. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/22 "2018-07-11T16:20:37Z")
> [@sbunny8](#): > > … > But I have a different point of confusion. When talking about a cow, “teat” means nipple. But, when talking about a human female, “tit” doesn’t mean nipple; it means the entire breast. If you hear a man say “She has big tits”, we certainly don’t think he means big nipples. Once again, this suggests to me that tits and teats are two different words, not just two different pronunciations of the same word. I too noticed that. But the bottom line is “tits” can be a synecdoche for “udder” for breezy interlocutors of bovine biology. ETA: This might be bullshit. Is “udder” understood to mean whether by farm people or others, to be “everything but the teats?” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/23 "2018-07-11T16:30:55Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Is “udder” understood to mean whether by farm people or others, to be “everything but the teats?” IME, “udder” is a generic term for the entire mammary apparatus, aka “bag”. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/24 "2018-07-11T17:07:15Z")
> [@sbunny8](#): > > FWIW, I once read a quote that went something like, “I dislike people who spell teats with an i.” IIRC, that was written in the 1960s by a novelist who was born around 1900. It seems he was claiming that “tits” is a misspelling of “teats” and that the correct pronunciation rhymes with beets. When I was growing up in the 1970s, I was under the impression they were two different words. In the Future Farmers of America, I only heard grownups say “teats”, never “tits”, when referring to a cow. > > But I have a different point of confusion. When talking about a cow, “teat” means nipple. But, when talking about a human female, “tit” doesn’t mean nipple; it means the entire breast. If you hear a man say “She has big tits”, we certainly don’t think he means big nipples. Once again, this suggests to me that tits and teats are two different words, not just two different pronunciations of the same word. In general, even on humans it relates to the exterior mammary glands starting at the areola IIRC. While general use may include the rest IIRC this was the reason why pasties could get around some decency laws. But as humans are one of the few mammals that have prominent protrusions absent actual milk production it is a bit hard to compare. Engorged breasts and outurned lips are the human equivalent of a peacock’s tail. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/25 "2018-07-11T21:32:08Z")
> [@sbunny8](#): > > But I have a different point of confusion. When talking about a cow, “teat” means nipple. But, when talking about a human female, “tit” doesn’t mean nipple; it means the entire breast. If you hear a man say “She has big tits”, we certainly don’t think he means big nipples. Once again, this suggests to me that tits and teats are two different words, not just two different pronunciations of the same word. Tit derives from teat. At some point some men started shouting “show us your teats” at women, and their urban friends had no idea the word originally meant just the nipple. Teats, as the word for … teats, has been in use from the 12th century, according to [m-w.com](http://m-w.com). Plenty of time for spelling and meaning to diverge and evolve. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/26 "2018-07-12T02:41:05Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I think it’s ‘teats’. Nah, tetes. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/27 "2018-07-12T05:31:18Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I have a container of it on my dresser right now, and use it after my hands are thoroughly whacked from work outside. Apparently–all SD evidence to the contrary–I’m not that weird a buyer of the product for that purpose, and it’s sold fairly commonly in non-cow locales. It’s fairly common for people to use treatments intended for animals on themselves. For example I recall reading some years ago how an application meant to toughen up horse hooves was popular with women who wear long nails. Nails and hooves are made of the same material after all, and making long nails stronger reduces breakage. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/28 "2018-07-12T05:43:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I have a container of it on my dresser right now, and use it after my hands are thoroughly whacked from work outside. Apparently–all SD evidence to the contrary–I’m not that weird a buyer of the product for that purpose, and it’s sold fairly commonly in non-cow locales. I use Bag Balm on my nose when I have a cold. Never found another product that combats the skin irritation better. Several parents have told me that it’s the best product they’ve ever encountered for diaper rash. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/29 "2018-07-12T07:05:09Z")
I’ve got some rough skin on my “bag”; may need to go shopping. (guy here) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/30 "2018-07-12T08:26:02Z")
Nobody considered “Cow Teats” as a band name? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/31 "2018-07-12T11:14:54Z")
The tool used to inject medication into a quarter via the teat is a [teat infusion cannula](https://www.jefferspet.com/products/teat-infusion-cannula-100-pk). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/32 "2018-07-12T13:17:51Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Nobody considered “Cow Teats” as a band name? That post is an udder failure. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657/33 "2018-07-14T03:33:45Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > I’ve got some rough skin on my “bag”; may need to go shopping. (guy here) This product would probably be a little too harsh for that area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-teats/817657.md?page=1)