8 Answers2025-03-20
Many people resist the changes in language used to refer to sex, but it is an area that has evolved significantly over the past hundred years. Writers from the past often used euphemism, and were often restricted by the constraints of Victorian prudishness. Today’s writer has the opposite problem: such language can seem to be affected or even silly. So writers have reverted to using straightforward language to refer to sex in order to be authentic. The expression “Dick me down” is an example of this current. It is based upon a very recent, perhaps short-lived, part of the English language and thus is of interest to historians in order to gauge whether it will be found to be a temporary phenomenon or a permanent addition to the language.
10 Answers2025-03-20
The internet is also a reminder of the worst aspects of language. You can be admiring a cute cat playing the piano on YouTube within minutes, and then spend hours scrolling through the worst of the worst on etymology of intensely sexist Jamaican cursing. Information is power. But the worst part is that once you have learned something, you cannot “unlearn” it. This particular “word” does not serve any positive purpose. Learning it does not make one a more complete or wise individual in any way. It merely provides another term for hatred that can be added to one’s vocabulary.
This word is one of nothing but harm to most people’s lives. It adds nothing good to the lexicon of someone who learns it. All it does is further pollute the vocabulary of the mind of someone who speaks it. Sometimes I wish that things were still the way they were. Such knowledge was kept within the community that had full comprehension of its power and evil. It was not disseminated to everyone on the planet to be further watered down. Not everything needs to be a Wikipedia entry. Some words are best kept local. They should have power and consequences that are understood completely by the speaker of that word or words. Not a trivia question for the rest of the world.
12 Answers2026-07-29
Am I thinking of that same scene in that same webnovel? That would be the scene with the male lead sitting the female lead on his lap at a banquet. And then they go for a carriage ride and it gets all bumpy and her tries to sit still but... nevermind. It's a very well-known trope - thigh riding.
I should add that while there are many poor novels that consist of nothing more than pornography and plot, well-written novels can actually use thigh-riding scenes to further the development of the characters. A proud character may be forced into a situation like this in order to deal with certain desires he has been trying to keep hidden, or in order to lose a power struggle. In some cases, the scene can even be used to reveal a character in a moment of intense vulnerability, or in a shocking display of agency. I read a horror-romance novel a while back that featured a vampire who used a variation on this act of intimacy as a way to feed off of humans, and it was uniquely terrifying.
It’s funny thinking about the practical details in these descriptions, like is everyone wearing silk trousers for this? Will there be any hilarious wardrobe malfunctions or terrible wrinkles? It’s so silly but at the same time, it brings home the emotional core of the scene, which is forced intimacy and the thrill of crossing an important social boundary. It’s a very physical metaphor for ‘oh no, there’s no going back now’.
9 Answers2025-03-20
So this is either about using secrets in fiction or in online discourse, and I can imagine that the former could easily be translated to the latter, but in stories, secrets generally function as plot points of high dramatic value. They are often the moment when the reader gasps and throws their hand up over their mouth. Secrets are just pure concentrated drama. In fiction, secrets are great because they make me so angry when they are revealed in the worst possible way and then I get to be so happy when the character seeks revenge. I love to hate when an author uses secrets this way because it instantly makes me care about the character and then I’m invested in their quest for revenge.
9 Answers2025-08-01
It’s also been identified by fans of the book and TV show as an affectionate label to describe themselves as ‘slow horses’ when they feel they’re an underdog, struggling against the odds, in everyday life. The label has become an identity for them.
And ‘slow horse’ now denotes a type of underdog or relatively powerless people struggling in difficult circumstances but nonetheless fundamentally capable and, in some measure, irrepressible. Much of this manifestation is to be found online. A person having a terrible time with their terrible employer or their miserable life could declare themselves a ‘slow horse’. There’s even a pride to be found in such description. The term has seeped from the pages of Mark Billingham’s novels into general usage and it’s a highly effective one.
8 Answers2025-03-14
The term ‘dicked down’ is used as an extremely direct slang term, similar to being ‘hooked up’ or ‘slept with’. However, while those terms can be somewhat vague as to what exactly happened between the two individuals, ‘dicked down’ is not. The term is commonly used in an extremely heterosexual manner and refers to penetrative sex of some kind or another. It is often used to denote a somewhat transactional or very physical connection, which lacks any sort of romanticism. As such, you are unlikely to come across the term in a romance novel and it is far more at home in a gritty urban fantasy, in a rap verse, or in a very edgy contemporary drama trying to gain a genuine insight into a particular subculture and using the most appropriate language to do so.
11 Answers2026-07-26
The tag also contains a lot of data that could be good to look at from a statistical perspective. For example, you could track shipping trends, see how a fandom is growing, or even see how certain canon events affect a fandom. For example, if you were to look at the usage statistics for the tag “ship” on Ao3 over time, you would probably see a spike every time a new episode of a show or a new game comes out, and then a slow decline as the episode or game is finished and the fandom is left to decay. Fans and even some academics use the data from tags on sites like Ao3 to chart the activity of their own communities. The term that is used to describe elements of a story that fans of a story use to ship characters from that story turns into a data point in the sociology of online culture.
7 Answers2026-07-29
The term ‘hip pop’ sits perilously on the edge of being able to be discussed respectfully and safely on forums, and being highly likely to attract complaints of sexual explicitness. While in discussions of dance, or LGBTQ+ history for example the term would be completely safe and proper, in general forums it would need to be used with extreme caution and would be sensible to avoid it unless 100% sure of the context and the history of the person posting. From a moderation point of view it is a complete minefield and therefore it is sensible for people to avoid using it wherever possible. If you are talking about the dance form then perhaps use the more formal term ‘hip pop’ or ‘pelvic pop’ to avoid any hassle. The best way to avoid trouble on forums and similar platforms is to have a good understanding of your audience, and the site’s rules.
4 Answers2025-05-13
This also brings to mind the business side of things. Can authors on Patreon or SubscribeStar actually make a living by writing this very specific hyper-niche content? I would wager that at the top of the pyramid there are a few who can make a living at this, but the long tail theory comes into play as well. If you are able to serve a small and very passionate audience with work that they would otherwise have no access to, they will of course pay for it because you are their only option. The economics of micro-genres can be quite surprisingly viable when there is direct support for the creator involved. It highlights again just how the digital landscape has fragmented entertainment into thousands and thousands of very viable and even profitable micro-genres that would not have seen the light of day in a physical world.
8 Answers2025-08-01
This title is about cost. Cutting for stone, which used to kill patients in droves, was a last resort, a desperate action taken in the greatest turmoil, for the greatest of loves. The exorbitant cost of the actions this novel portraits, loving a sibling, pursuing a life’s work, surviving against incredible odds to become what you want to be, all have to do with amputating limbs of the soul. The title itself is expensive sounding. It conveys a sense of great weight, of irrevocable action, and of extreme danger. As a historical term it conveys the sense of vast risk that this novel is about to explore in depth: transactions in which life, love, and sanity are the currency. Nothing is free in this novel, and every cut, every intervention has a cost which is paid years later.