dick v. to watch or to keep under surveillance. Editorial Note: There are also, of course, a wide variety of sex-related slang homonyms that are well-covered elsewhere. Etymological Note: The Historical Dictionary of American Slang attributes this verb to the English Romani dik “to look, see,” in turn said to be from the Hindi dekkhna, but its latest cite is 1935. The cites below show that the verb is still in current use. Also related are dick ‘detective’ or ‘police officer’ and to keep dick, defined in the English Dialect Dictionary as “to keep watch” and attributed to County Antrim, Northern Ireland. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A remarkable new documentary explores the world of amateur and professional mermaiding and the language bubbling up within it. Some mermaiding enthusiasts greet each other with a friendly “Shello!” Plus, an adoptee wonders what to call...
Sarah from St. Augustine, Florida, asks if there’s a word for the accent we inherit from our parents. One useful term is idiolect, the unique blend of language each person speaks, and the handing down of speech habits from elders is called...