“Badaulder!” – Common:- the western Heartlands expression for “Bullsh*t!” or “Hogwash!” (its usage is creeping into Cormyr right now, headed for Sembia, the Dales, and the Moonsea; more jocular than deadly insulting; much used in mercantile negotiations) (So saith Ed - May 9, 2004; Power of Faerûn by Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd)
“banner” – Common:- a male prostitute (So saith Ed - June 28, 2007)
“bedwarmer” – Common:- a Semban word for a prostitute (Realmslore: The Flourishing Career of Melvos Hammerstars, Part Five by Ed Greenwood)
“being an ox-haunch” – Common:- as we would say “behaving like a jackass” (Realmslore: The City Watch of Waterdeep, Part Two by Ed Greenwood)
“Blood of Tempus!” – Common:- see “Blood of the god!”
“Blood of the god!” – Common:- a polite Tempuran oath (also uttered as: “Blood of Tempus!”) (So saith Ed - April 12, 2004)
“blurf” – Common:- “nonsense” (So saith Ed - July 4, 2010)
Brittle Bones” – Common:- a term for humans used by orcs (Polyhedron #74; also collated in Lore from the Sages)
“by the clocks of Neverwinter” – Common:- a phrase used to swear at petty perfectionism or to solemnly swear one’s honesty (The North by Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb, Julia Martin, Steven E. Schend, Paul Jaquays, Steve Perrin)
“Calaunthead” – Common:- a deliberate outlander’s insult applied to the collective folk of Calaunt, heard most often among Inner Sea sailors (Polyhedron #74)
“catclaw” – Common:- a prostitute who likes rough sex or domination, or who will for coin try to seduce others, or act the role of a slave, spouse, conquered war-captive or former rival who is now a willing lover (in other words, benefit or enhance the status of a paying client by her acting, from wearing chains and willingly accepting abuse to pretending to have been smitten by the sexual prowess of the client) (So saith Ed - June 28, 2007)
“Caztul!” – Common:- a Tempuran specific “F*ck!” expressing profane shock or disgust (So saith Ed - April 12, 2004)
“codloose winker” – Common:- a lecher (derivation: a winking man with a
loose or often-removed codpiece) (So saith Ed - May 9, 2004)
“Cormyte” – Common:- a more slang, familiar term for Cormyrean; originally a Semban insult, but was proudly and defiantly adopted by folk of Cormyr who lived near the Sembian border (Polyhedron #74)
“crazed-wits” – Common:- a madman (Crown of Fire by Ed Greenwood; Volo’s Guide to the Sword Coast by Ed Greenwood)
“Crown-kissers” – Common:- same as “fancy noses”
“Dare–and beware!” – Common:- a Moonsea battle cry (Mysteries of the Moonsea by Wil Upchurch, Sean K. Reynolds, Darrin Drader, Thomas M. Reid)
Dark!” – Common:- (a contraction of “Dark and Empty!”) a Semban epithet expressing profane shock or disgust (So saith Ed - March 20, 2004)
“emptyheads” – Common:- one of the less polite terms common in Sembia, Amn, Tethyr, and the Heartlands caravan routes for cannon fodder (So saith Ed - September 30, 2009)
“fancy noses” – Common:- a Marsembian term of derision for those who admire court fads and things Suzailan too much (Volo’s Guide to Cormyr by Ed Greenwood)
“footwarmer” – Common:- an utterly neutral term for a paid companion of the opposite sex, who is willing to sleep with clients; usually sex is implied, but the term literally means to provide companionship in bed for the lonely, so that they have a warm body to warm their feet against; increasingly, this term is applied to aging, less athletic or adventurous prostitutes (So saith Ed - June 28, 2007)
# “fruit” – Common:- a gently racy term for breasts (So saith Ed - May 23, 2004)
Garn it” – Common:- (or just “Garn”) a nonsense phrase used in place of “um” surfacing around the Sea of Fallen Stars and along the Heartlands trade routes (through Berdusk and Iriaebor) (So saith Ed - May 5, 2008)
“Garn” – Common:- see “Garn it”
“Gelkor!” – Common:- a Tempuran specific “Sh*t!” (So saith Ed - April 12, 2004)
glimmersheath” – Common:- a strikingly beautiful prostitute, or a male cross-dressing prostitute; in either case, the term refers to “glim” willingly receiving the ‘dagger’ of the male physique (So saith Ed - June 28, 2007)
“gloryhole slab” – Common:- a two-seater toilet seat (Interview with Ed Greenwood - September 22, 2009)
“Harcrimmitor!” – Common:- akin to shouting: “Die, motherf*cker!” specific to Tempurans (So saith Ed - April 12, 2004)
“hawksnarl” – Common:- (more strongly: “a real hawksnarl”) a man who is always yelling or blustering, or is nastier or more aggressive than prudent or necessary (Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide by Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims)
# Hrammar!” and “Hrammared!” – Common:- southern version of “Hrast!” and “Hrasted!” (So saith Ed - May 17, 2004)
“Hrast!” and “Hrasted!” – Common:- non-deity-specific “D*mn!” and “D*mned!” (So saith Ed - May 17, 2004)
“Kelstyn!” – Common:- a Tempuran specific “Blast!” (So saith Ed - April 12, 2004)
“little man” – Common:- a nasty insult to any dwarf (Crown of Fire by Ed Greenwood)
mad-wits” – Common:- same as “crazed-wits”
“Naed!” – Common:- same as “Naeth!”
“Naeth!” – Common:- “Sh*t!” (also uttered as: “Naed!”) (So saith Ed - May 17, 2004)
# “Sabruin!” – Common:- “F*ck you!” or “F*ck off!” (So saith Ed - May 17, 2004)
“stlarn,” “stlarned” and “stlarning” – Common:- are fairly polite equivalents for “tluin,” of about the blasphemous strength of “Darn!” and see use where we might say “screw” or “bloody” (So saith Ed - May 9, 2004)
“Tluin!”, “Tluined!” and “Tluining!” – Common:- “F*ck!”, “F*cked!” and “F*cking!” (So saith Ed - May 17, 2004)
In the list that follows, "ND" means 'not derogatory,' a neutral, formal term, acceptable in polite society conversations, proclamations, etc. "M" means mild (common figure of speech, not really an insult), and "E" means derived from Elvish slang. Also, assume descriptive phrases to be Common, and unfamiliar (invented) words to be words from various other languages and local dialects, adopted into Common. Materials inside quotation marks are pronunciations.
For obvious reasons, most of these will probably never appear in published Realms products.
male homosexual ND = liyan (E: "LEE-awwn"), praed (derived from gnome slang)
effeminate male homosexual = dathna ND, simpering man-lover
bisexual man ND = tasmar
lecher M = winker
Casanova, tireless woman-chaser = cod-loose winker
masochistic man = dusk
[note: refers to a male who enjoys self-bondage and/or being bound, being whipped or pierced or otherwise hurt]
cross-dresser (either gender) ND = saece (E: "SAY-sss")
male or female who enjoys being forcibly enspelled (including shapechanging) as part of sexual play = wild one, thaethiira (E: "thAY-th-EAR-ah")
prostitute ND = coin-lass, coin-lad
[note: the above is roughly the equivalent of our phrase "neighbourhood professional;" I haven't listed less polite euphemisms because there are literally dozens]
lesbian ND = thruss
dyke = battlebud
butch (manly woman) = harnor
submissive female M = rose
masochistic female M = dusk rose
[note: the above refers to a female who enjoys self-bondage and/or being bound, being whipped or pierced or otherwise hurt]
'loose' female = wanton, (fun person), sreea (E: "SREE-uh")
bisexual female = shaeda (E: "SHAY-dah")
Cont
Ed replies:
Just like the recent query about snacks, this one has so many replies that I'm sure I'll miss a lot of the euphemisms employed in the Realms. However, let's have a go at a fragmentary list:
low-coin lasses
high-coin girls (obviously, this term and the preceding one refer to rates charged - - and, usually, "quality of presentation," which is to say: to charge high rates, a female usually has to be pretty if not beautiful, actress enough to enjoy her work and to portray what the client wants [from fear to innocence to tenderness, and a liking for whatever the client's preferences are], to be clean and provocatively dressed, and to operate in less than squalid surroundings)
ladies of the evening (implies the ability to function as escorts in social situations; i.e. know how to behave at a feast or formal gathering as ladies of breeding, not merely - - or perhaps not even - - sexual partners)
bedwarmers (entirely neutral and open-society-polite term, as it can imply either gender, and everything from a personal maid who literally warms a rented bed with a bedpan and then departs, perhaps never being seen by the renter, to a regular companion hired repeatedly by a given traveler on every visit to a given establishment; usually means "good, hard-working, trustworthy prostitute")
alley girls (implies low and coarse street workers, often women who literally ply their trade in alleyways by night, usually swift "offerings" for a few coins; young boys who can scrape up a copper coin between them usually get their first sight or fondle [only] of bared female flesh by visiting an alley girl in daylight)
festhall downdancers ("festhall dancers" are usually just that: dancers, though they may flirt and dance unclad or partially so; "downdancers" is the usual shorthand term for "MORE than just dancers")
lightskirts (a mild term, usually implying prostitution but can mean merely promiscuous)
looseskirts (need not be a professional; this term really means "willing woman," but is often employed to mean prostitute by folk who dare not, or don't want to be, more explicit)
snakehips (an exhibitionist and willing sexual partner who is either contortionist or acrobatic, or "willing to try" precarious sites for trysts, such as rooftops, high tree boughs, atop wagons, high windowsills, hanging from ropes or balconies, on horseback, and so on; again, need not be a professional)
low-lantern ladies (refers to the Southern [the Vilhon, Calimshan, and points south] practice of dancing, disrobing, and then lovemaking all to the subdued amber or red light of almost-shuttered lamps that have panels of one of those two hues)
willing-arms (usually used to refer to a village (germbag), as in "ah, this'll be the local willing-arms")
escorts (implies the acting ability and training to function as "arm candy" in social situations such as revels, feasts, and formal gatherings as persons of breeding, not necessarily sexual partners)
hard-currency girls (a term rarely heard these days; it implied that this particular prostitute wouldn't extend credit - - but almost no one does, any more, so the term is dying out except as a leering, over-the-top "scandalous" term used in some plays - - usually by a "shocked, utterly SHOCKED, my dear!" character)
courtesan (a professional "hostess" employed by a ruler at his court, to entertain important visitors; need not have a sexual role at all, but usually does; tone of voice or local knowledge implies sexual side of profession if it exists)
warmflanks (a very "polite" way of referring to prostitutes; can be said in polite social conversations by or in the hearing of anyone, including disapproving old matrons and children)
whiplovers (originally only a slighting way to refer to worshippers of Loviatar, or S&M -enjoying cultists of Shar and Bane, its use broadened to include masochists venerating Ilmater, and finally all sexual masochists; recently, has seen use in Amn, Tethyr, and Calimshan as a term for those who offer their bodies to be whipped in return for coin)
kisscoin (a polite, affectionate term for those willing to make love for pay)
footwarmer (an utterly neutral term for a paid companion of the opposite sex, who is willing to sleep with clients; usually sex is implied, but the term literally means to provide companionship in bed for the lonely, so they have a warm body to warm their feet against; increasingly, this term is applied to aging, less athletic and adventurous prostitutes)
she-eel (a snarled near-curse, implying someone who teases, takes coin, and then slips away [or robs clients], OR an approving advertisement for someone very supple and willing to use her skills for adventurous sex or to increase the pleasure of clients)
banner (a male prostitute)
skilled-laces (a prostitute of satisfying skills and performance; the term refers, of course, to unlacing garments)
darksail (someone who makes love for pay while masked, or with identity magically disguised; originally many elves and half-elves of Waterdeep used a "shiftmask" spell that covered their faces - - except for their eyes - - in amorphous darkness; this spell is sometimes cast for hire on wealthy wives and husbands who want to "cheat" at masked revels, so if their masks are torn off, their faces still can't be seen; the spell can also be cast to cloak most of the body, so once garments are removed, the body can be felt more than it can be seen, an aid in concealing wrinkles, or identifying marks that betray identity)
slyblade (prostitute who dresses as a man, to woo female clients or as protection against the disapproving or lawkeepers, when meeting male clients who know her true identity and profession very well, or are "tipped off" by prearrangement plus a card, message, or signal)
catclaw (prostitute who likes rough sex or domination, or who will for coin try to seduce others, or act the role of a slave, spouse, conquered war-captive or former rival who is now a willing lover [in other words, benefit or enhance the status of a paying client by her acting, from wearing chains and willingly accepting abuse to pretending to have been smitten by the sexual prowess of the client)
bell-ankles (a Southern term referring to the dying practice of wearing chiming bells on the ankles when dancing or lovemaking, as audible advertisements; this custom is dying out, but the phrase still sees popular use to mean prostitute willing to entertain "walk-in" clients)
slapthighs (low-rate or coarse or willing-to-be-abused prostitute; the term is descriptive, NOT pejorative)
smilecoin lass (polite term for a friendly, "nice" prostitute, especially one who will cook for, provide conversation for, and provide a bed for the night for, a client - - not just providing sex)
goldglint darling (poetic or "overly polite" term for anyone who provides sex for payment)
playpretty (a female paid for sex by soldiers or sailors)
doxy (mistress or prostitute, especially applied to women who are the shared mistresses of a select roster of men)
warmvelvet (a young, pretty or beautiful prostitute who likes to tease or act alluring or foster an air of mystery; in Silverymoon or Waterdeep, this also means a noble or wealthy young woman "playing" at being a prostitute for the thrills [or to see if she can use this as a "road away" from an unhappy home situation])
chalice (a poetic or very polite term for a prostitute, based on the poetic reference to the female as either a cup that a male drinks from, or a vessel that receives his seed)
glimmersheath (a strikingly beautiful prostitute, or a male crossdressing prostitute; in either case, the term refers to eyecatching beauty and willingly receiving the "dagger" of the male physique)
gold tigress (a prostitute who likes to wrestle with or fight [to be "conquered"] clients, or to bite and claw them; a "tigress" without the word "gold" refers to a female who is not a prostitute but has similar sexual preferences]
I could go on and on and on, because the euphemisms are endless, but these given here are the most universally understood (even if some of them are used only regionally, travelling merchants have spread word of their meaning across Faerûn). If one adds insults and curses to modify these, an entire new roster of phrases opens up, but I'd rather leave those to the inventiveness of individual DMs so as not to upset too many scribes reading this thread.
So saith Ed.
