busybuzhuk (noun) – In Tazha use, means “perversion,” “usurpation,” or “wrongdoing,” an offense against the division of labor by genders; specifically, when a provider kills a convict-captive or when a nurturer vanquishes someone who has abused a tribemember. The Tazha consider this obscene, unnatural, and disgusting.
chaliliyyeh (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, this is a very rude term for a woman, meaning something like “thicket girl,” with connotations similar to English “cunt” or “bitch.” It’s a sharp-tongued, unattractive woman who is more trouble than she’s worth; a wholly uncomplimentary term.
dantzuvi darbamak (phrase) – In Whispering Sands use, this is crude slang for “male masturbation.” It literally means something like “to rub the rascal” or “to stroke the scoundrel,” describing the penis as the son-in-law that nobody wants.
dekul (adverb) – In Whispering Sands use, means “up a camel’s ass.” This appears in a lot of colorfully obscene expressions such as “caught with one’s arm up a camel’s ass” for “caught unprepared” and "to have one's head up a camel's ass" for "to do something stupid." The adjectival form is dekil. Both forms sound similar to the name Dekel ("date palm tree").
kavanjaan (noun) – In bandit and decadent use, this is an obscene term meaning “melon-fucker,” that is, a man who likes to masturbate with melons, cutting a hole and thrusting into it, and who would rather masturbate with a melon than have sex with an actual woman. This is a vicious insult, far more so than kavanjan (“a man who masturbates with melons but would prefer women”).
kurezisva yokli (expression) – In Whispering Sands use, the denotation is “in time for the inverted pseudosphere,” and the connotation is “Not EVEN when HELL freezes over!!!” It isn’t exactly obscene, but the social effect is similar; it’s very very taboo. Polite people won’t use this expression. There aren’t even very many bandits who do. Some folks consider it somewhat unlucky to say out loud.
laago (noun, adjective or adverb) – In Whispering Sands use, the denotation is “opened in such a way that it cannot be closed again” or “wedged ajar.” It’s not a violent connotation, not like you bashed a door open, but rather like you pulled it open and it came off one hinge in the process. The word is fine as long as you’re discussing something like a worn-out door or latch. More derogatorily, it can mean “worn out,” “broken down,” or (in the case of an animal) “swaybacked” or “spavined.” However, there is also an extremely vulgar application which means something like “fucked floppy” or “fucked so many times that the affected hole is stretched wide open.” A favorite curse is “Drâma laago e heydut!” or “The bandit’s fucked-wide-open camel!” In this sense it is sometimes used in reference to the state of being magically unshielded. Bandits and decadents love both versions of this word; Waterjewel folks tend to use only the neutral interpretation.
mershe (noun) – In Waterjewel use, means “obscenity, a bad thought, a bad word, expletive, or vile expression” used both for vulgar language and for obnoxious people whom the Universe has created to express its frustration much as a person might utter a rude word.
ovushturmak (verb) – In Whispering Sands use, the denotation is “to rub against each other” or “to press together” or “to create friction.” The connotation is most often a tawdry reference to sex, not so much obscene as sordid. This is the word Shareem used, that I translated as “the sweaty pressing of the flesh.” It’s about as unromantic as you can get, and the implication if you say it to a man is that he thinks of you as nothing more than a place to put his dick.
sevgilu (noun or adjective) – In Whispering Sands use, means “beloved” or “dear one” and is a term of affection specifically between two women. The idea is that a man doesn’t care that much about anyone or anything; it is a soft, deep, inherently feminine bond. It can mean anything from “best friend” to “Lesbian lover” depending on context and locale. In Waterjewel it’s a common term of endearment; in some other places, a vile obscenity.
wahâyak (expression) – In Whispering Sands use, means “upon my foot” or “by my foot,” though it can also refer to someone else’s foot. This works like the English slang “expert, my foot!” but is considerably stronger given the desert connotation of feet as something crude. Waterjewel folks give it a more ironic or tacky connotation than obscene or nasty, but in other use it can be quite potent.
January 30 2008, 01:38:39 UTC 13 years ago
"obnoxious people whom the Universe has created to express its frustration much as a person might utter a rude word."
hmmmm!!!
Also, in re: the foot. The Old Testament uses the "foot" or "feet" as a euphemism understood to refer to "penis" and to "lay by one's foot/feet" means to have sex with. To "cover" or "uncover" the feet also had a sexual connotation, with sharing the hem of one's garment meaning a betrothal or other committment.
The most well known use of this is in the story of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth is a foreigner who gleans in the fields belonging to Boaz, a well known and prosperous local man --
"As it turned out, [Ruth] found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech" (Ruth 2:3). Boaz was a "man of standing [Hebrew: ’ish gibbor chail, implying Boaz was physically impressive and had noble character]"
Boaz shows Ruth some special attentio.n Ruth's MIL Naomi tells her to go to where Boaz is sleeping on the threshing floor during the harvest, and "uncover his feet" --
"Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let [Boaz] know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do" (Ruth 3:3-4).
This was in order to get him to become Ruth's "kinsman-redeemer" which actually involves marrying a widow in order to provide for her (she would become one of many wives). In that story Boaz "awakes" but that is meant literally...he wakes up and asks her what she is doing. She says ""Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer" where spreading the corner of his garment (the part near his feet) entails a promise of marriage.
So the feet snippet here was also really interesting to me.
January 30 2008, 02:03:51 UTC 13 years ago
In Whispering Sands cultures, feet are not considered in a sexual light; they're considered dirty. Anus would be a closer analog than penis. That doesn't stop people from doing important things with feet, but it does make for some amusing verbal circumlocution:
dursha (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, the denotation is “stance,” “position,” or “pose.” In decadent use, it has the connotation of “political platform,” “side of a debate,” or “opinion on an issue.” In Tazha use, it has the connotation of "sticking point" or "ground to be held," a position from which one refuses to be budged. In Waterjewel use, it is the polite way of referring to footwork in swordfighting. Feet are considered crude to mention; a bandit might well shout “Watch your feet!” but a polite person would not. There isn’t a specific word for “swordfighting footwork.” The term dursha theoretically refers to the whole body’s position, but in application, it’s only used when the problem is below the hips.