# Did I hear this right? \[Question about a cell phone commercial\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729 "2008-06-21T23:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/1 "2008-06-21T23:27:52Z")
The commercial about cell phones, Ronny is shooting pool and he is called a dill-weed. Didn’t that same commercial call Ronny a dildo when it 1st came out? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/2 "2008-06-21T23:32:20Z")
I edited the title to make the subject more evident. Please use descriptive titles when starting a thread. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/3 "2008-06-21T23:49:45Z")
I’ve only ever heard him say dillweed. It would be even funnier if he said dildo, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/4 "2008-06-22T01:37:16Z")
I’ve only heard dill-weed, which I already think is pushing the limits for American TV ads. I can’t believe that any major company would use the word “dildo” in a commercial in the U.S. A small company might try it, but many networks and stations would probably refuse to air it. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/5 "2008-06-22T15:41:28Z")
Dillweed is the dried leaves of the Dill plant and is used as an herb. Why would that be pushing the limits of American TV ads? > **[Dill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillweed)** > > Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula; it is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. > The word dill and its close relatives are found in most of the Germanic languages; its ultimate origin is unknown. > The genus name Anethum is the Latin form of Greek ἄνῑσον / ἄνησον / ἄνηθον / ἄνητον, which meant both "dill" and "anise". The form 'anīs... ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/6 "2008-06-22T15:48:25Z")
[QUOTE=jasonh300] Dillweed is the dried leaves of the Dill plant and is used as an herb. Why would that be pushing the limits of American TV ads? > **[Dill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillweed)** > > Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. Native to North Africa and West Asia, dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. > Growing from a taproot like a carrot, dill grows up to .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-o... [/QUOTE] Because it sounds like “dickweed.” -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/7 "2008-06-22T18:52:13Z")
What came first? Dillweed or dickweed? I’d much rather hear someone called a Dillweed on television than to hear “You suck”. I find “you suck” offensive, even though what you suck is just implied (eggs of course). I’ve heard people called a “dick” on television, mostly on Southpark and Saturday Night Live and I’m pretty sure once on one of the Law & Order series. They still censor it if you’re referring to a part of the anatomy. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/8 "2008-06-22T19:51:15Z")
Is a dillweed the same as a dillrod? Where did that come from? ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/9 "2008-06-22T20:19:14Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Is a dillweed the same as a dillrod? Where did that come from? [/QUOTE] Its could be a spin from "[Nimrod](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod) ". While a very prestigious title in some areas can be meant quite the opposite in other areas. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/10 "2008-06-22T22:07:11Z")
[QUOTE=jasonh300] Dillweed is the dried leaves of the Dill plant and is used as an herb. Why would that be pushing the limits of American TV ads? [/QUOTE] It’s pretty clearly a euphemism for “dildo.” Think about it: taken literally, “dillweed” doesn’t make much sense as an insult. It’s like calling someone a “lover-trucker.” Would you expect to hear than in a TV commercial? ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/11 "2008-06-22T23:00:01Z")
[QUOTE=Jeff Lichtman] Think about it: taken literally, “dillweed” doesn’t make much sense as an insult. [/QUOTE] Neither does “dingbat” (a typesetting term, also a font), or the above mentioned “nimrod” (Hebrew term for Hunter, also a town in Minnesota). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/12 "2008-06-22T23:09:24Z")
[QUOTE=jasonh300] (Hebrew term for Hunter, also a town in Minnesota). [/QUOTE] No, Nimrod was the name of a hunter, a great-grandson of Noah and “a mighty hunter before the Lord.” Also, it was the name of the Babylonian despot who had the Tower of Babel built. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-hear-this-right-question-about-a-cell-phone-commercial/453729/13 "2008-06-24T00:32:43Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] No, Nimrod was the name of a hunter, a great-grandson of Noah and “a mighty hunter before the Lord.” Also, it was the name of the Babylonian despot who had the Tower of Babel built. [/QUOTE] A great-grandson of Noah lived in Minnesota? 😛