Years ago I worked with a young female colleague whose upbringing made her squeamish about certain words. On separate occasions, I learned that merely saying one of the words made her squeal.
Her trigger words: spiders, snakes, underpants, and vomit! Saying any one of them would trigger: “Eeeew! Don’t say that word!”
If I wanted to get a rise out of her, I could slam my fist on my desk and say: “Spiders, snakes, underpants, and vomit!” It was better than cussing.
I wonder how she would have handled: “There are so many spiders and snakes in my underpants it makes me want to vomit!” She probably would have fainted dead away.
