Without resorting to slang (ass, gut, box, nut, etc.), how many body parts can you name that have legitimate 3-letter names? I came up with 11.
arm ear eye gum hip jaw leg lid lip rib toe
What am I leaving out?
[QUOTE=Zeldar]
Without resorting to slang (ass, gut, box, nut, etc.), how many body parts can you name that have legitimate 3-letter names?
[/QUOTE]
“Gut” isn’t slang, there’s a medical journal named Gut.
There’s “sac,” although unlike those above it requires an adjective (lacrimal, alveolar). I guess “bed” and “arc” would also follow this rule (nail bed, arc of Riolan). They don’t refer to a single body part category, like “ear” or “rib,” so I guess they don’t count.
There’s “fat,” whether that’s a body part or not is up to you.
Without going into acronyms (ACL), you probably have them all.
[QUOTE=Ichbin Dubist]
“Gut” isn’t slang, there’s a medical journal named Gut.
There’s “sac,” although unlike those above it requires an adjective (lacrimal, alveolar). I guess “bed” and “arc” would also follow this rule (nail bed, arc of Riolan). They don’t refer to a single body part category, like “ear” or “rib,” so I guess they don’t count.
There’s “fat,” whether that’s a body part or not is up to you.
Without going into acronyms (ACL), you probably have them all.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the response. I seem to recall this issue coming up in a “serious” context some time ago. Not on The Dope, but on some other site or maybe even in a magazine. I do recall the “gut” issue being addressed before so your answer makes it a legitimate part of 12 such things. I agree with your assessment of “bed” and “arc” for the reasons you state.
As an aside/hijack, in my early days of writing haiku I tried to make them acrostic and the use of legitimate 3-letter words fit that need. It’s really amazing how many 3-letter words there are, both with and without slang and acronyms.
Speaking of which, my favorite acronym is TLA. 
pit
Pad
Web (between fingers/toes)
Orb (eye)?
zit!
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen]
zit!
[/QUOTE]
And if that’s not enough: pus.
Bud (as in taste…)?
lbo?
[QUOTE=Doctor Jackson]
lbo?
[/QUOTE]
nee?
fut?
hed?
bak?
noz?
han?
Does rod count?
(No, not THAT, ya pervert, as in rods and cones.)
[QUOTE=bouv]
Does rod count?
(No, not THAT, ya pervert, as in rods and cones.)
[/QUOTE]
It just might since it doesn’t need the additional term to indicate what type of rod you’re meaning (other than that one).
Sac, as in the lung’s air sacs.