2011/10/21

ὀνοματοποιία

Those who pursue erotica on the net are most likely familiar with the word squick and its derivatives (squicky, squicked, etc.).

As typically used, the word refers to subjects or images that cause an instant, visceral reaction of repulsion; it implies not a moral judgment (“Oh, that is so wrong, how disgusting”) but simply a personal reaction (“Eww, I can’t read this”).

For example, my index entry for More Than a Mouthful says: “…if cum play is squicky for you, skip this one.” Some readers may be quite at ease with the idea that men have orgasms involving certain side-effects, but very uncomfortable with a story’s extended focus on semen itself.

All of which I find very unfortunate.

Not because the concept doesn’t need a word to express it, but because squick needs to be available for a much more delightful meaning.

To me, squick is the perfect word for the sound of wet labia parting.

I paused to assess the condition of her heated bottom, gauging the color and testing her reaction to touch. I pulled her near leg closer to me, spreading her wider, and the squick from her soggy pussy told me that, despite her muted sobs, she was as always intensely aroused.

I can go with the majority here and use the word as a warning when I think one of my stories might cross a line for some readers. But in private, squick is going to be a happy word for me: the sound of arousal and readiness.

— Frenulum

2 comments:

  1. Two questions in re your subj line:
    1. Do you know Greek? (If you do, I'm the more impressed.)
    2. How do you access that character set?

    AH

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  2. 1. I don't read/write Greek; I recognize the alphabet and I have the appreciation for the language that a lover of English etymology must acquire. My production vocabulary is about a dozen words (roughly my fluency in Russian or German).

    2. Copy/Paste. What technical mechanisms underly that are a mystery to me. I'm a software developer but haven't ever probed the internals of character code set support; I do know it's a twisty maze.

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