Hellobee Boards Topic: Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 02 May 2026 08:45:46 +0000 oliviaoblivia on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60377 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:37:21 +0000 oliviaoblivia 60377@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I remember looking up 'faggot' and learning it was a bundle of sticks...got really confused...then brought it up at dinner with my grandparents. Yikes. Urban dictionary arrived about a decade too late to safe my dorky childhood. Rescuemom10 on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60339 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:10:07 +0000 Rescuemom10 60339@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I dont think I ever did! Hmm Mrs. Pickle on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60299 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:40:03 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 60299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No, I never did. I was too scared of getting caught! daniellemybelle on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60251 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:27:16 +0000 daniellemybelle 60251@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Hahaha, Mr. Bee, you are hilarious! And yes, I was obsessed with the dirty words in the dictionary. There was also this thing called an "encyclopedia" that my grandparents had, and I would always secretly study the entries related to sex. Ah, the good old days! Andrea on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60213 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:02:31 +0000 Andrea 60213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yes, I did that. I don't remember the words I looked up, though. I used to love my dictionary. How about the THESAURUS? By the name of it, sounds like an extinct dinosaur...which I guess it is now. I loved using my thesaurus, too. I'm sure I still have both in one of my book cases. Now I use online resources. And now I also talk to Siri. "Siri, you suck" "I am trying my best, Andrea" heffalump on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60203 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:53:34 +0000 heffalump 60203@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Lol, I didn't. I was never a fan of cursing, and probably didn't need to see it in writing either. I remember my dad would occasionally use a curse word and it made me very uncomfortable because I knew he was doing something that was bad. I was a goody goody, and still am. MaisyMay on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60088 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:32:47 +0000 MaisyMay 60088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Guilty. I did look a few words. And the first time I saw "Shit" printed in a book (not dictionary), I was very very confused because for some reason I thought it would look more...offensive? Not sure, but it was odd. ETA: Not only do I own a dictionary, but I also a compact OED (Oxford English Dictionary) that contains the history of every English word from the 1920's on back. It's pretty hard core, kinda like the grand-daddy of all dictionaries. Did I mention that I was an English major? mrbee on "Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-ever-look-up-dirty-words-in-the-dictionary-when-you-were-growing-up#post-60026 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:59:12 +0000 mrbee 60026@https://boards.hellobee.com/ When I was growing up, there were these things called "dictionaries." They were made by chopping down trees and turning the wood into something called "paper." Then the dictionary company would pay actual money to "experts" who would write down the definition of every word. These definitions would be printed on the paper using ink. You couldn't volunteer to help the definitions get better; no reader was allowed to just edit the definitions. There was very little slang in there; it was a dictionary after all, not an Urban Dictionary. These dictionaries would be sold at places called "bookstores." They sold only books and even if you were thirsty, they wouldn't sell you drinks or coffee. Just books. When you didn't know what a word meant, you would grab your dictionary and look up the word. The words were all alphabetized, for your convenience. The pages were thin and hard to turn, so you usually had to lick your fingers a lot. Sometimes you would just read word after word, to see if there were any interesting ones. This would induce a state of intense boredom or intense learning, or both. Every time I would come across a new dictionary, I would almost always check to see if it had any dirty words. This would tell me how authentic and street savvy the dictionary was. I thought I had grown out of this but when I got my new iPhone, I said all sorts of inappropriate things to Siri to see what she would say back. I guess I haven't changed all that much. Did you ever look up dirty words in the dictionary when you were growing up? Also: do you even own a dictionary now - and when was the last time you actually physically looked something up in a paper dictionary?