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[CCBC-Net] Another "Lucky" editorial
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From: msimpsonmls at comcast.net <msimpsonmls>
Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:26:32 +0000
Let's Talk About Plumbing by Jim Shea March 3, 2007 Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT
I never thought I'd have to take a position on this, but mark me down as being pro scrotum.
Mind you, I am not someone you would call rabidly pro scrotum - you know, someone who might be described as being a scrotum-wacko or a scrotum-head.
But as far as the current debate is concerned, I'm down with the pro-scrotum crowd.
The word scrotum became a center of controversy after it appeared in the opening page of a kids' book titled "The Higher Power of Lucky," which recently won a top award in children's literature.
In the book's opening, the main character hears someone say he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog on the scrotum.
My initial thought upon reading this passage was: Well I guess you can rule out Lucky as being the dog's name.
Other people have had different reactions: some school librarians have sought to ban the book, asking: How would you like to explain what a scrotum is to a class of third- or fourth-graders? (Show and tell would probably not be an option.)
Scrotum runs afoul of the word police for a couple of reasons:
First, it's associated with the plumbing department, and any body part that has anything to do with human plumbing is off limits to children unless it is referred to euphemistically - pee-pee, poo-poo - or mechanically: "That there doohickey is called the perimeter drain, son."
The other reason scrotum has detractors is because of the way it is pronounced. I think it is the "um" at the end that creates difficulty. If it were scrota, or scroto or scrotodobedo, it would seem less icky.
Scrotum also would do better as a word if it could get transferred to a different field.
It would make a fine legal term:
Judge: Do you understand that you have the right to be represented by a scrotum and that if you can not afford a scrotum a scrotum will be appointed free of charge?
Or a good description for a luxury home room:
Real estate agent: And this is the master scrotum, which has a very light and airy feel to it.
Or an excellent sports' clich?:
Announcer: Well, folks, I haven't seen anybody run the old double scrotum play in years.
If there is a bottom line to the scrotum flap, it may be that words in and of themselves are what you bring to them. And sometimes you don't even know where the baggage comes from.
While I have no issues with scrotum, the word scrod makes me want to censor menus. I have no idea what kind of fish a scrod is, but I can tell you one thing, I'm never eating one, unless, of course, they change the name to tuna.
E-mail: shea at courant.com
Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:26:32 +0000
Let's Talk About Plumbing by Jim Shea March 3, 2007 Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT
I never thought I'd have to take a position on this, but mark me down as being pro scrotum.
Mind you, I am not someone you would call rabidly pro scrotum - you know, someone who might be described as being a scrotum-wacko or a scrotum-head.
But as far as the current debate is concerned, I'm down with the pro-scrotum crowd.
The word scrotum became a center of controversy after it appeared in the opening page of a kids' book titled "The Higher Power of Lucky," which recently won a top award in children's literature.
In the book's opening, the main character hears someone say he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog on the scrotum.
My initial thought upon reading this passage was: Well I guess you can rule out Lucky as being the dog's name.
Other people have had different reactions: some school librarians have sought to ban the book, asking: How would you like to explain what a scrotum is to a class of third- or fourth-graders? (Show and tell would probably not be an option.)
Scrotum runs afoul of the word police for a couple of reasons:
First, it's associated with the plumbing department, and any body part that has anything to do with human plumbing is off limits to children unless it is referred to euphemistically - pee-pee, poo-poo - or mechanically: "That there doohickey is called the perimeter drain, son."
The other reason scrotum has detractors is because of the way it is pronounced. I think it is the "um" at the end that creates difficulty. If it were scrota, or scroto or scrotodobedo, it would seem less icky.
Scrotum also would do better as a word if it could get transferred to a different field.
It would make a fine legal term:
Judge: Do you understand that you have the right to be represented by a scrotum and that if you can not afford a scrotum a scrotum will be appointed free of charge?
Or a good description for a luxury home room:
Real estate agent: And this is the master scrotum, which has a very light and airy feel to it.
Or an excellent sports' clich?:
Announcer: Well, folks, I haven't seen anybody run the old double scrotum play in years.
If there is a bottom line to the scrotum flap, it may be that words in and of themselves are what you bring to them. And sometimes you don't even know where the baggage comes from.
While I have no issues with scrotum, the word scrod makes me want to censor menus. I have no idea what kind of fish a scrod is, but I can tell you one thing, I'm never eating one, unless, of course, they change the name to tuna.
E-mail: shea at courant.com
-- Martha Simpson, Head of Children's Services Stratford Library Association 2203 Main Street Stratford, CT 06615Received on Thu 08 Mar 2007 06:26:32 PM CST
