Anal sex: encoded for the dense-of-mind
So, there are typos in your response to a personal ad. Big deal, right? I mean, we all do it from time to time (even I! Thanks to those of you who've pointed out my occasional typo!), and everyone can read what you meant to say, even if you munged a few letters...
Well, almost everyone. It turns out that the occasional absent-minded reading of a typo can cause great confusion. To wit:
Yesterday, I received an email approach saying, among other things, "I'd also like to try try some ana with you, how about youl?"
Now, it's probably obvious to everyone what "ana" means, in this context, right? Well, not me. Call me dense, or oblivious, or I-don't-know-what, but... I didn't draw the obvious conclusion. Instead, I thought, "Hm, I wonder what "ana" is? I know "tina" is amphetamine..."
Aside: I've never used recreational drugs, and I don't get a lot of exposure to them, so I'm used to not "getting" drug slang. This doesn't explain why my mind went there, but I do regularly get invitations to "go skiing" or smoke a joint as part of our get together, so maybe that's it.
At any rate, I Googled it, with no luck, and then asked some friends:
cluechick: What drug is "ana" slang for?
helpful: Not as in "pro-ana"?
cluechick: No, as in a drug
cluechick: I know it's slang for a drug, but I don't remember which one
helpful: Anabolic steroids?
also-helpful: That would have been my guess
also-helpful: You're sure it's a drug? I've heard it as slang for 'anorexia'
helpful: that's what I wondered but she said no :)
also-helpful: oh, i see
cluechick: yes, sure it's a drug
cutiepie: maybe epinephrine?
cutiepie: (I'm searching google for "ana drug", which is not very clear)
cluechick: yeah, I searched for "drug slang"
cluechick: but none of those lists include it
cluechick: so maybe it's new, or a typo, or I'm misunderstanding what, "Maybe you'd like to do a bit of ana" means
cluechick: maybe it's a sex act
helpful: anal.
also-helpful: anal
also-helpful: jinx!
helpful: if this is in casual-sex mail, that seems far the most likely reading :)
cluechick: oh. duh
Seriously! Duh.
But, after laughing at me, you all can take a lesson here: typos actually do matter. Usually, it's no big deal, but other times... well, you may be sending a message entirely different from what you mean.
