The P Word

I'm bloody knackered. I was stuck at work for 11 hours today and to add insult to injury I couldn't find anyone to come to the pub with me so I came home in a taxi and ate chocolate.

Anyway. The conversation in the tearoom was lively and don't ask me how but it moved onto a discussion of the word 'panties'. The general consensus amongst the women was revulsion. Not one woman could stand the word. Men, however, loved it. As each one entered the room I took it upon myself to ask them what they thought. To a man the reaction was identical; a stunned look followed by a puzzled one, then a big smile which turned into a dirty laugh. Oh, yes. Men like panties.

Funnily enough I think the reason we hate the word is the reason they like it. Men imagine panties to be small, lacy, sexy and full of promise. Women imagine panties to be small, lacy, uncomfortable and impractical.

One girl didn't mind the word 'cunt' but 'nipples' reduced her to fits of giggles. The boys liked it, obviously. It's a bit of a silly word with great comedy value. Nipples. Say it out loud. You're smiling, aren't you?

After that we sort of trailed off onto less riveting topics. I told the story of when I was 5 and my pet newt Fred killed my brothers pet newt and I was made to give him up. We all agreed that it was particularly unfair. The Australians in the room weren't quite sure what a newt was and thought I was saying 'minute'. It's not easy being a foreigner at times.

Looking forward to a 4 day week next week. Here in Australia we have a public holiday next week. It's called ANZAC Day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. I'll be posting more on the subject this week. In preparation for this honouring of our war dead, have a read about HMAS Sydney.