To have not realised that "Plonker" means penis.

[OonaStubbs]

Until today when DP told me. I was very surprised as it never occurred to me. I also can't believe that they got away with saying it on TV in the 80s during family viewing time!

Isn’t dipstick just a sanitised alternative to dipshit?

The thing with dictionaries, though, is that they are descriptive - not prescriptive. And sometimes they take a while to catch up with common usage of certain words or phrases.

Essentially, if a sizeable enough number of people across the country use/understand plonker to mean penis, then it does mean that - even if not everybody uses it the same way.

It's a bit like insisting that 'jag' categorically doesn't mean injection/vaccination, because it isn't used to mean that in your part of the UK - but to many, many people in Scotland, it certainly does mean that.

It's no good saying that it means a rough part of a cliff, not an injection; when the fact is that it commonly can mean both.

IIRC ‘What a plonker!’ was regularly said on that old super-popular TV comedy show with David Jason - can’t remember what it was called!

Your DH is wrong, it doesn't mean penis.

Whoosh.

None of which explains Gropecunt Lane

Does it?

Always thought it meant dullard. As in Rodney.

You really don't need to overthink this one if you have ever checked the oil on an engine.

But that means that everybody else who routinely uses and understands it to mean penis is wrong too!

The thing with dictionaries, though, is that they are descriptive - not prescriptive.

As St. Suzy Dent says, usage is the final arbiter of language . If enough people choose to use "plonker" to mean penis then that is exactly what it will mean. And no amount of frothy posts on a parenting forum will ever change that.

Look how "queer" has gone from meaning odd, through an insult and now a social description arriving at a situation where it can mean all three depending on context. Yes, it's the most offensive c-word in the English language again:

C* or "context"

Well, yes. They are wrong! It doesn't mean penis!

Plonker will always mean Rodney Trotter to me !
which wasn’t really fair though because he did get a GCE in art 😂

It does mean a dullard or just a foolish person. I swear people just make up nonsense and then demand that everyone accepts it by saying that language is 'descriptive not prescriptive', which is just a way of handwaving incorrect usage.

But it's no different if Del Boy had called Rodney a cock. It's exactly the same; cock and plonker can both be used to mean penis and idiot.

Why is that so hard for so many to understand?

At what point does "incorrect usage" become correct then ?

I am reminded of all the call centres I have called who have said that are receiving a "higher than average" number of calls for the past 3 years. At what point does the "average" get updated ?

My mum used to call our son a plonker when he was little and my husband had to tell her it meant penis , she was mortified.

Because 50% of people are below average intelligence ? (checks if the ratio of yes to no on this thread is 50:50)

I remember seeing an interview with David Jason where he was talking about how he started using "plonker" in only fools and horses and couldn't belive it got past the censors as it meant penis - that's when I found out that was the meaning

It seems like it's since come to mean "fooling person" or "idiot" due to being used as that on the show!

I've had quick google for the interview but couldn't find it - i'll keep looking!

You had better let the Oxford English Dictionary know. They need to revise their text.

2.
slang (chiefly British and Australian).

1. 2.a.
2. c1920–
3. The penis.
4. to pull one's plonker: to masturbate; to pull a person's plonker: to deceive a person humorously or playfully; cf. to pull a person's leg at pull v.Phrases P.7a.

https://www.oed.com/dictionary/plonker_n?tl=true

When i was a kid, i heard this ‘poem’ (i don’t know what else to call it!).

I laid in bed.
I pulled my plonker.
It did me good.
I knew it would.

I’m from the East End of London, so it definitely means penis there.

Yes, East London heritage also - 1st line of interpretation would be to think it's a penis.

But as an aside, plonk used for cheap wine is apparently army usage, from the anglicised way of saying 'vin blanc' - think it's from WW1 but not sure about that.

Don’t be a plonker! It does not mean penis 😂

Fake news !

It's apparent who the plonker is. And there are a great many others on this thread.
The readiness to ignore the personal experiences of posters, concrete examples of its usage as referring to penis and OED etymology that gives great detail as to the evolution of meaning and usage. But posters still come on and say "no it doesn't mean penis" 🤦🏼‍♀️

Yes it does.