# Words that sound dirty but actually aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 31, 2016, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739 "2016-01-31T11:14:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/121 "2016-02-09T19:19:24Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > The Journal of Analytical Toxicology. What’s dirty about that, you ask? Its official abbreviation: > > **J. Anal Tox** On the Tonight show many years ago, Johnny Carson held up an envelope from the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes that had been sent to the Rheumatoid Association of Mobile (Alabama). Somewhere along the way the name got abbreviated, so that the envelope actually said: “THE RHEUMATOID ASS MOB HAS WON $10,000,000!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/122 "2016-02-10T14:29:59Z")
Master, [from the urban dictionary](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Master). I was going to say Master’s Degree, a show mock amazement there even was an academic program for it. But then I recalled _Master Lock_, and that seemed a much better… fit. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/123 "2016-02-10T21:05:52Z")
Usufruct ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/124 "2016-02-11T00:57:49Z")
Polling the electorate. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/125 "2016-02-11T16:39:10Z")
Fokkers ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/126 "2016-02-12T14:55:59Z")
Pork loin… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/127 "2016-02-12T14:57:43Z")
I’ve seen it misspelled as “pork lion”, which is either pretty unappetizing, or, taken as a directive, even dirtier sounding. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/128 "2016-02-12T16:23:19Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > [QUOTE=TriPolar] > Balzac Dumas. [/QUOTE] Kant. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/129 "2016-02-12T20:26:50Z")
Fricative, in linguistics. Especially a uvular fricative. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Windshoeffel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Max\_Windshoeffel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Windshoeffel)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/130 "2016-02-12T20:44:40Z")
So I was at the restaurant, slowly masticating. But they showed my the door when other guests noticed my eructation. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/131 "2016-02-12T21:07:45Z")
> [@umop\_ap\_sdn](#): > > Fricative, in linguistics. Especially a uvular fricative. Even worse: Before the great fricative shift, they were pricatives. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/132 "2017-07-09T02:45:33Z")
Effable/ineffable. It’s _not_ the ability to be “effed” or not. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/133 "2017-07-10T03:44:50Z")
Coonass; Refers to the Cajun inhabitants of southern Louisiana. I have seen bumper stickers with the slogan “Made in Louisiana by Coonasses”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/134 "2017-07-10T03:59:06Z")
The Kia _Sportage_. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/135 "2017-07-10T06:05:33Z")
[Cockermouth, England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockermouth) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/136 "2017-07-10T11:01:27Z")
England’s placenames are the best for this. My favorite is “Kentish Town”. (“Shitterton” doesn’t technically count because it, unlike most dirty-sounding placenames, actually does mean “town near the place used as a shithole”.) ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/137 "2017-07-11T02:55:05Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Even worse: Before the great fricative shift, they were pricatives. Labial fricative Mother liquor Hortonite And today i saw a Bung Borer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/138 "2017-07-11T03:46:55Z")
Rejigger Shub-Niggurath (for all you Lovecraft fans out there) ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739/139 "2017-07-11T14:34:18Z")
Do you play the Sackbut? It’s an early Trombone. What’s better? To play with your Sackbut? Or to be a Tromboner? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-sound-dirty-but-actually-arent/744739.md?page=6)