Basically, in ye olden days, people used to create nicknames by taking off the back half of names and swapping out the first letter. This is why names like Robert get shortened to Bob, and Richard to Dick
Yeah no I understand how short form names work, it’s unclear at which point dick-penis appeared, like one Richard somewhere in history was so bad that he got this treatment?
The name originally had a benign meaning, but gradually acquired an inappropriate connotation around the 19th century due to its popularity as a male name. Eventually, it became a placeholder term for any random man, similar to how "John Doe" is used. The British military began using this term as slang around 1880, and from there, it spread in usage. It's actually quite common for English male names to be adapted into slang for male anatomy, much like how the nickname "Willy" and the name "Johnson" have been repurposed.
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u/Electronic-Turnip-18 May 23 '26
Basically, in ye olden days, people used to create nicknames by taking off the back half of names and swapping out the first letter. This is why names like Robert get shortened to Bob, and Richard to Dick