# Three-letter body parts
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [February 28, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451 "2006-02-28T14:24:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/1 "2006-02-28T14:24:35Z")
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?
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### Author:  [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/2 "2006-02-28T15:44:08Z")
> [@Zeldar](#):
>
> Without resorting to slang (ass, gut, box, nut, etc.), how many body parts can you name that have legitimate 3-letter names?
“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.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/3 "2006-02-28T15:52:10Z")
> [@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.
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. 😃
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/4 "2006-02-28T16:01:47Z")
pit
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/5 "2006-02-28T16:23:11Z")
Pad
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### Author:  [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/6 "2006-02-28T16:52:18Z")
Web (between fingers/toes)
Orb (eye)?
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### Author:  [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/7 "2006-02-28T16:55:35Z")
zit!
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/8 "2006-02-28T17:15:55Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#):
>
> zit!
And if that’s not enough: pus.
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### Author:  [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/9 "2006-02-28T19:16:33Z")
Bud (as in taste…)?
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### Author:  [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/10 "2006-02-28T19:17:53Z")
lbo?
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/11 "2006-02-28T19:21:39Z")
> [@Doctor Jackson](#):
>
> lbo?
nee?
fut?
hed?
bak?
noz?
han?
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### Author:  [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/12 "2006-02-28T21:02:20Z")
Does rod count?
(No, not THAT, ya pervert, as in rods and cones.)
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/13 "2006-02-28T21:12:05Z")
> [@bouv](#):
>
> Does rod count?
>
> (No, not THAT, ya pervert, as in rods and cones.)
It just might since it doesn’t need the additional term to indicate what type of rod you’re meaning (other than that one).
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### Author:  [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-letter-body-parts/346451/14 "2006-02-28T21:54:38Z")
Sac, as in the lung’s air sacs.