Antipudic

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, Grant, this is Lee Keely. I’m calling from Victoria, Texas.

Hi, Lee, how you doing?

I’m fine, thank you. How are you all?

Great, great.

We’re doing well.

Welcome to the program.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Yeah, what can we help you with today?

Well, I had a question about a word that I just sort of seem to recall from childhood.

Years ago, I think my mother or my grandmother, one, was reading me a story about the emperor’s new clothes.

It was an illustrated picture book, and it was done in such a way that the illustrations were clearly G-rated when they could have been otherwise.

But it was always a convenient limb or lamppost or something like that to make the picture kid-friendly.

And I recall that whoever was reading it to me described that form of presentation using some word.

And I don’t know what the word was, but does that make any sense?

Is there a word like that out there?

So you’re wondering if there is a word for the device or the trick of covering one’s naughty bits in depictions like that.

That’s right.

I don’t know if it was a French term like trompe l’oeil for the ultra-realistic presentation or something like that.

But I just seem to recall that there was some word they used, and I may have completely remembered it wrong, but that was my question.

Well, now, Lee, you’re not talking just about fig leaf, right?

No, but, you know, of course, that is a pretty good metaphor for it in general, I suppose.

Right, right, going back to Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden.

Well, I do have one word for you.

I don’t know if this one’s going to ring a bell or not.

Well, it’s been a long time.

How about this word, Lee?

Antipudic.

Ooh.

Antipudic.

Antipudic.

How do you spell that?

How do you spell it?

You spell it A-N-T-I-P-U-D-I-C, antipudic.

Antipudic, okay.

That’s an adjective then.

Yes, an antipudic device.

Although, well, it comes from the Latin word pudor, which means shame.

If you’re impudent, you don’t have shame.

Pudenda is an old-fashioned word for literally the parts one ought to be ashamed of.

And antiputic is a word that is really, really, really rare.

In fact, Lee, I only see it in collections of really rare words.

Although, I did see once in a book about Alfred Hitchcock that he used the term as a noun referring to the famous shower scene in Psycho.

Apparently, he had to use a few antiputic devices.

I see.

That’s not a bad word.

Yeah.

That’s great, actually.

I just have a tremendous doubt that that was the word that my mother or grandmother used, you know, 45 years ago or whenever it was.

But it could have been.

I’m happy to know there at least is such a word.

Yeah.

And you know what, Lee?

There’s a whole generation out there of people whose mothers read them the Emperor’s New Clothes.

And I think I may even remember the edition of that book.

I loved looking at that book with the illustrations of the emperor walking around.

I’m not sure the question that I asked to elicit the response,

But I’m sure that must have been a little bit of a surprise to him, too.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah, so maybe we’ll throw this out to our listeners as well

And see if there’s a word for that strategic device other than antiputic.

Well, I like that. It’s a good word.

Okay, well, go forth and use it in good health.

Thanks for calling, Lee.

Well, I sure appreciate it.

Thank you all very much.

Bye-bye.

All right.

Appreciate it.

Bye-bye.

If you have your word for that device of covering up the naughty bits at just the last second,

Give us a call, 877-929-9673, or send us an email to words@waywordradio.org.