Another Bad Word

After I related my "Three Bad Words" story to my son, Elliott, he recalled this story.  I had no memory of it (a not uncommon event with me), but I trust his version, which follows:

About age six, Elliott was out on the street playing with some friends  his age.  There were some older boys there, and they were taunting another boy, yelling "Georgie, Georgie, King of the Boners! Georgie, Georgie, King of the Boners!"

Elliott came into the house, and asked me what a "boner" was.

Of course, my first response was a demanding: "Who told you that word?"

He said he heard it on the street from some older boys he did not know.

Then, I told him a "boner" was a mental error.  For instance, in baseball, a dumb play might be called a "bonehead play".

However, it soon became clear (not sure how) that this what not the meaning that the older boys on the street were using.

So, I told Elliott that sometimes for a male adult, they can get excited, and then their penis gets very large and very hard, and that is a "boner".

Elliott, age six, said he found this explanation to be totally incomprehensible, as in "I have no idea what my father is talking about?"

Three Bad Words

This is a true story, as true as the memory of this 81-year-old can be.

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In early September, Nadine and I visited Nadine's son Adam and his family. They have recently relocated to Richmond, British Columbia (a suburb of Vancouver).  Adam and Judith have two children, Elior, a seven-year-old boy,  and Na'amah, a three-year-old girl. The kids refer to us as Bubbie and Zayde.

One day Elior and I were walking home alone from a nearby park. We were about a block from Elior's house when the following conversation began:

Elior: Zayde, I know three bad words.
Me: Oh, really! What are they?
Elior: the N-word, the B-word, and the F-word.

Then he continued:

Elior: Zayde, what does the N-word mean?
Me: The N-word is a very bad and very hurtful word. You should never use it. I'm not going to tell you what it means. I think you should discuss it with your father and mother. Would you do that?

Elior shook his head, signifying that he was not willing to do that.
I thought about it some more. I know what the F-word is, and I know what the N-word is, but what's the B-word, I wondered?  I better check.

Me: Elior, is the B-word "bitch"?
Elior:  Yes. What does it mean?
Me: A bitch is a female dog.

We didn't go any further exploring why the B-word is a bad word.
A few moments later.....

Elior: Zayde, tell me some more bad words.
Me: Elior, I am not going to tell you anymore bad words.
Elior:  Then, Zayde, how will I learn more bad words?
Me:  Elior, you'll learn them from your friends.
Elior:  Zayde, how will they learn them?
Me: They'll learn them from their older brothers and sisters.

By this time, we had arrived at Elior's house.  We never got around to the F-word.

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Later, I wondered: if a "bitch" is a female dog, what is word for male dog?  I Googled it and found the word for male dog is just "dog".  After the dog and the bitch have offspring, he is a "sire" and she is a "dam". So, technically, no canine can be a son-of-a-bitch...he is a son-of-a-dam.