Some readers might be familiar with the story of the iPhone app Ninjawords, the dictionary which was initially banned censored labelled ‘Adult Content’ in Apple’s App Store because of the presence of vulgar terms. Today Slate published an entry dealing with the difficulty of words such as sex in a dictionary.

With the advantage of hindsight, Stein may seem priggish. But dictionary editors throughout history would sympathize. Figuring out how to put sex in the dictionary—which terms to include and how to define them—is actually one of the most challenging tasks we face.

The main focus of the entry is on how to define sexual terms. (common Vulgar language frequently used in the rest of the entry)

Thus, you can’t fuck someone in the ass with a dildo, according to the current edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary, and Webster’s New World Dictionary. The whore in Portnoy’s Complaint “who fucks the curtain with her bare twat” can’t do that, according to American Heritage, Webster’s New World, Random House, or Encarta. Lesbians can’t fuck each other at all, according to Webster’s New World and Encarta (though if they use a strap-on, Encarta becomes OK with it). Fucking a woman’s breasts is only possible according to Merriam-Webster. Finger-fucking and fist-fucking are impossible according to Webster’s New World, Random House, and American Heritage; Merriam allows it, but only if it’s vaginal and not anal. Only the OED, whose entry for the word I edited, defines fuck to encompass sexual acts beyond “sexual intercourse.” The new edition of my book The F-Word goes into even more detail about the possibilities.

Click here to read the complete of the entry.