# Phrases that appear dirty - but actually aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 6, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198 "2005-06-06T20:17:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/1 "2005-06-06T20:17:49Z")
Maybe it’s just me, but walking past the sign “Wet Riser” in our office stairwell always make me giggle… Are there any other totally innocent words or phrases that you can take totally out of context? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/2 "2005-06-06T20:27:09Z")
In Mexico, the little van-sized public buses called “combis” always have the following phrase painted on their rear bumpers: _Precaucion: Paradas Continuas_ which literally means “Careful: Continuous Stops”, but can also be read to mean: “Caution: Continuous Boners” (as in “erections”). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/3 "2005-06-06T20:29:04Z")
Librarians use “rubber fingers” In Physics we have Stimulated Emission Degenerate Perturbation Theory ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/4 "2005-06-06T20:33:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Librarians use “rubber fingers” > > In Physics we have > > Stimulated Emission > Degenerate Perturbation Theory Not to mention _hardons_. Oops! I meant _hadrons_. What’s up with me and erections today? ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/5 "2005-06-06T20:45:31Z")
Technical literature for commercial filtration systems make frequent use of the phrase “ **mother liquor** ”. I’ve also gotten in trouble at work for making web searches seeking “industrial vibrators”. They attach to the sides of bins and keep material from sticking to the sides. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/6 "2005-06-06T20:48:43Z")
Wankel rotary engine ---
**Author:** ![sciguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@sciguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/7 "2005-06-06T21:02:02Z")
Mastication. Man, let me tell you I’m going to be masticating until I die, even if it takes artificial enhancements when I’m old. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/8 "2005-06-06T21:22:02Z")
Some in mathematics engage in mensuration. ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/9 "2005-06-06T21:25:54Z")
Back when I was in college, we got to learn all about [Astable](http://www.visionics.ee/curriculum/Experiments/Astable/Astable%20Multivibrator1.html) and [Bistable Multivibrators](http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_4/chpt_10/2.html) ---
**Author:** ![Typically\_Sunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Typically\_Sunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typically_Sunday)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/10 "2005-06-06T22:38:46Z")
Anything said erotically enough will sound dirty- even the most innocent of phrases. Hey, wanna _mow my lawn_? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/11 "2005-06-06T22:45:41Z")
Another foreign-language one: One of the few Turkish phrases I learned in the few months I lived there was “chok guzel”, which means “very good”. But I’d have trouble saying it to a young woman without sounding perverted: “Choke guzzle, baby!” ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/12 "2005-06-06T22:57:59Z")
Ralph Collier did a spot on these from foreign countries years ago on WFLN-FM Philadelphia. Included were gems such as (at a cleaner) “Drop your trousers here for immediate attention.” (At a hotel) “Guests are encouraged to take advantage of the chamber maids.” ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/13 "2005-06-06T23:04:47Z")
Written on the boom of a crane: Steel Erection. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/14 "2005-06-06T23:05:59Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Ralph Collier did a spot on these from foreign countries years ago on WFLN-FM Philadelphia. Included were gems such as (at a cleaner) “Drop your trousers here for immediate attention.” (At a hotel) “Guests are encouraged to take advantage of the chamber maids.” see [www.engrish.com](http://www.engrish.com) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/15 "2005-06-06T23:24:25Z")
Statistics lectures on the use of \*\*copula \*\* functions have been known to draw a few sniggers from undergraduates. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/16 "2005-06-06T23:28:47Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Not to mention hardons. > > Oops! I meant hadrons. What’s up with me and erections today? It was really confusing reading a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records and seeing an entry for “Smallest Hadron”. Took a couple of re-readings to catch the spelling. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/17 "2005-06-07T00:02:57Z")
Do you mind if I insert my dongle? ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/18 "2005-06-07T00:06:08Z")
> [@Girl From Mars](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but walking past the sign “Wet Riser” in our office stairwell always make me giggle… Are there any other totally innocent words or phrases that you can take totally out of context? I’ve always liked a US equivilent: “Slippery when wet”. Yeah. . . ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/19 "2005-06-07T01:12:00Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > Wankel rotary engine _damn you, that was my joke!_ We took a picture of a friend under a road sign in England that warned, “Humps, next five miles,” or something to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198/20 "2005-06-07T02:43:04Z")
Enough about hadrons, what about Fermions? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-appear-dirty-but-actually-arent/307198.md?page=2)