There are two words I keep running into in romances, and I have to talk about them.
First: when a heroine is barefoot and she's ambulating from one location to another, what verb will be used to describe her movement?
Padded.
All barefoot people pad. Count on it.
I searched “padded” on all books on my Kindle, and came up with 20+ examples referring to people walking barefoot. Because it's new, I have a total of 10 books on this device, so granted this is a very limited sample. But when I search my archive of books online, I get a similar flash flood of people paddling around. These are some of the results – sound familiar?
- “She padded into the kitchen.”
- “She padded into the living room.”
- “Her bare feet padded against the hardwood floor.”
- “She tossed the covers off, padded naked to the table…”
- “I changed into my sweatpants and padded out to the living room in my bare feet.”
- “He padded back to the bedroom.”
- “She kicked off her heels and padded toward the kitchen barefoot.”
Perhaps I'm unconsciously drawn to books wherein someone will be barefoot, but that's a lot of padding.
This is starting to remind me of when I found references to “scudding clouds” in the sky in about six different historical romances within a two month period. It's like words go through surges in popularity within a subgenre. So with contemporary romance, there's a higher likelihood of small towns with aspirational names, baked goods and pastries, irascible secondary characters, and barefoot people padding all over the place.
It's not as if “pad” isn't a verb. It totally is and it's been around for awhile:
And now that I've been thinking about it, I admit to having a difficult time coming up with an alternate word. The only thing better would be if there were a specific word for those who walk around in the shoes with toes, like Bikram Five Fingers.
“She five fingered her way through the living room.”
Well, no, that doesn't work, does it?
It's not as if there's a better word, or that the usage is wrong – it's not. It's one of those words that read more than said aloud – have you ever said to someone, “I padded my way to the kitchen,” or “Pad your way up the stairs right now, young man”? I have not. And it seems as if that word is in so many books of late, I'm adding it to my cliche bingo card.
And while I'm on the subject of letters beginning with the letter 'P,' I do need to ask WHY all the nipples are PERT. We've talked about how nipples are fruity (and nipples on men are (a) flat and (b) male) but we haven't really examined the use (or overuse, depending on whether or not you're me) of pert.
Have you noticed how many pert nipples there are? THERE ARE SO MANY.
Her already pert nipples crinkled into tight buds. He grinned.
Lila Dubois
Red Ribbon
Her pert nipples were enlivened and visible against the bodice of her gown. He vividly recollected how those nipples had been pressed to his chest after he'd rescued her from the stream.
Cheryl Holt
Double Fantasy
Then with a light shaking movement I'd ease my red semi-see-through bra over my breasts and down across my nipples.'
'Wait do your nipples feel like?'
'They're haaaard,' I panted. 'And they're pert.'Amanda Brunker
Champagne Kisses
He couldn't resist the invitation and licked at onepert nipple, stroking his tongue over it and then tugging gently with his teeth.Christine Feehan
Deadly Game
He tweaked her pert nipple and she moaned.
Lorelie Brown
Jazz Baby
…his head had dropped lower, and suddenly his mouth closed over one pert nipple, teeth biting gently, then lips suckling hard, as his long fingers tangled in the soft curls at the juncture of her thighs.Jacqueline Baird
Untamed Italian, Blackmailed Innocent
Her thumbs smoothed over her pert nipples, bringing them into even more prominent life.
Celia M. Hart
Made for Sin
She arched her back and her breasts pushed forward, the pert nipples standing up like little pebbles set in a round of pale caramel.
Charlotte Boyett-Compo
WyndRiver Sinner
Now honestly, who does that to caramel dessert?!
Those pert nipples are not just in romance either:
“I would love to tease your pert nipples with my tongue.”
“You don't have a tongue.”
“Yes, all right, but if I did have a tongue, I would love to tease your pert nipples with it.”
Dean R. Koontz
Demon Seed
And this example which just made me laugh:
It is a cliche to say “pert nipples”. What does “pert” mean? Pert; fucking stupit word. Now she was leaving. Nay wonder.
James Kelman
You Have to be Careful in the Land of the Free
Aside from Pert 2-in1 shampoo, is there anything else that is so frequently described as pert?! I've seen a handful of pert noses, but mostly, it's nipples. Why are nipples always pert? Is there no other word, aside from fruity references?
I pondered “pert” WAY too much and had to learn more about it. Much like “pad” as a verb, “pert” is an adjective with a long history:
So nipples are trim and stylish and jaunty? Or are they high spirited, vivacious, bold and saucy? Or saucily free and forward? For God's sake, it's a nipple, not hired entertainment leaping out of a giant cake.
“Pert” can also mean “attractive due of neatness,” “jaunty,” or “lively.” I do not want lively nipples. I have enough trouble with pokey nipples when wearing sheer shirts.
Perhaps the reason the almost ubiquitous usage bothers me is within the etymology: “pert” comes from Middle English meaning “unconcealed, bold” and traces back to the Latin word “apertus,” for “open.” So basically the nipples are much like the hero's dick-as-divining rod, and the erect nipple is a signal that she's bold, unconcealed, and open for, ahem, plundering. They're the equivalent of an erection in signaling arousal, or signaling piquant stimulation. Even if she says no, her pert nipples say yes.
The usage in romance sex scenes seems to have more in common with the older definitions of “pert,” particular the Middle English one, and not the contemporary definitions I've found. But the word “pert” in romance has become almost exclusively connected with “nipple,” to the point where looking too closely at the meaning conjures up some very alarming nipples indeed.
Pert is ubiquitous, much to my dismay. Unfortunately, if one is looking for a different word (and not raspberry-like fruit references), the listed synonyms at merriam.com aren't much help: active, airy, animate, animated, bouncing,brisk, energetic, frisky, gay, jaunty, jazzy, kinetic,mettlesome, peppy, perky, lively, pizzazzy,racy, snappy, spanking, sparky, spirited, sprightly, springy,vital, vivacious, zippy.
Frisky nipples! Mettlesome nipples! ZIPPY NIPPLES. Oh, I cannot wait for the zippy nipples.
Have you noticed people padding with pert nipples in your romances? Or is there another word you see all the time? Does it bother you?
Ok, did a search, one character – who never wears shoes, pads seven times. But out of five books, one isn’t too bad. No pert nipples, though. Now, back to writing about barefoot women with erect nipples.
Tresses. Tresses I hate the most, especially in more contemporary works, and any heroine who refers to her own hair using the word tresses needs to suffer a tragic Nair related accident.
I don’t mind pad so much, though I’ve seen it used a plenty and it does call attention to itself, but pert nipples have always annoyed me. I’ve also seen “… round, pert breasts …” used.
The ones I see a lot are “cut his/her eyes to (wherever)” and “hummed” instead of “hmmed.” The cut eyes I first spotted in Janet Evanovich, but they seem to be cropping up a lot more lately. And “hummed” just gets on my nerves: humming is a thing, but it’s not the same as making the ‘hmmm’ sound.
“Padded” is one of those words that’s just hard to find an evocative alternative for.
@Elaine, Laura, & Sally
Is Laurens the author whose nipples ruche? I know all her heroes “prowl” behind the heroine like possessive beasts. Laurens even turns structure into cliche. How many times has the hero licked, laved, and lashed a nipple? I’m always impressed by these alliterative parallel constructions of porny delite! I guess it’s supposed to intensify the experience.
I found that various Bridgertons “gritting out” their aggravation several times per book put me off Julia Quinn, but then I encountered the phrase in other Regencies and gave up. It’s like a virus. Someone comes up with a relatively original term, and other authors unconsciously pick it up.
Other terms that have been turning up lately involve the hero “slanting his lips over hers” or plunging, thrusting (or otherwise burrowing) into her “core.” Am I weird that all I can visualize is a worm in an apple?
I have to say that bone tired works for me. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and when I’m really tired I first feel the pain in my arms and legs. And it’s so embedded in me I think of it as bone deep because if it was any deeper it would have to start coming out the side. But I readily acknowledge I’m probably an exception rather than the rule.
My nipples should be stylish and jaunty. That would be awesome. Then when somebody says “You are not stylish” I could say “But my NIPPLES are. HAHA. Can you say that?”
Huh…maybe I need more sleep.
I’ve read about expressions and faces and hats being pert. Oh, and I think I read the term used to describe a nicely-clad (stylish?) butt once. It seems, to me, to be a description used for women – their nipples, noses, faces, etc.
I’ve written stories where people “pad” in their socked feet. Oh the cliches. I use them.
Wait. The writers don’t actually mean the heroine’s inner thighs?
My mind. It is blown.
I can not stand the word “ropey” to describe the hero’s muscles. All I can picture is bumpy boat line pushing up through their skin. “Corded” is also out. Basically any type of lashing material used to describe muscles. Ick.
What bugs me is folks who confuse “rein” and “reign.” Often seen in historicals and urban fantasies.
I’ll check in the morning to see after my shower if my nipples are zippy. I assume they are as I work for the University of Akron and the mascot is Zippy – a kangaroo. Gives a whole new slant to the discussion!
I must not be reading the right books because I’ve never seen pert used in this fashion. I have, however, seen it used to describe noses. I’m probably guilty of that myself.
I’ve read a lot of nipples pebbling. It sounds painful to me. I try to avoid any mention of nipples in anything I write. I find I can write a love scene without pebbling or pertness in that area 🙂
The use of awesome for EVERYTHING makes me crazy!
This one’s just for accurate historicals, but hoo boy did Georgette Heyer love to say “A maggot in his brain.” It’s in all her books and whenever I see it I have to stop reading and go dry heave.
Also, smirking. Can we all just stop smirking already? It’s making my face hurt.
Two phrases I’ve run into that pull me right out of the story because I can’t figure out what they mean: “he glittered darkly” and “her mobile lips.” The first phrase might make sense for Meyer-esque vampires, but I just can’t figure out how regular old humans glitter, darkly or otherwise. As for the “mobile lips,” I picture some sort of repetitive fishy-lip motion going on, and it’s not attractive at all.
And I concur with the distaste for “slanting lips.” Hate, hate, hate that phrase.
My womb clenched during labor. That was not at all sexy.
The word that drives me batty is “nubbin,’ usually in reference to the clitoris. Is it just me? I see it constantly!
The word that annoys me most is “lush”. A heroine always has lush curves, lush breasts, lush lips. Heck, even the way an author writes romances can be lush, according to a cover blurb I saw on “The Black Diamond” by Andrea Kane in the original paperback.
The word “lush” should be banned from Romancelandia forthwith.
I don’t like those phrases either so I just did a quick search of my latest book (which I won’t name on account of honestly not trying to be spammy), and although my leading lady prefers to be barefoot indoors and out – weather permitting – I haven’t used it once.
I also never use the word “pert” at all. I checked. It’s only in there as part of “property”. I describe nipples as “stiffened” in one scene and “hardened” in another. No “pert” nipples to be found. Possibly because I use that shampoo and if I ever described someone’s nipples as “pert” I’d imagine them being green and gooey and while I’m sure that’s lovely for certain science-fiction romance, it doesn’t really fit my style.
@Elaine, Laura, & Sally
Is Laurens the author whose nipples ruche?
Yes, Laurens would be the one who writes so evocatively of ruched nipples.
I like padded for barefoot walking. It’s a far better word than “went” or “walked,” since it has a sensory component. I can hear what it sounds like when someone pads from one place to another, and when it’s the POV character I can feel it.
I’m not terribly fond of “pert.”
One that really turns me off is when the hero waggles or wiggles his eyebrows. Gag. Reminds me of Groucho Marx and kind of Mitt Romney. Not sexy at all.
Not only nipples seem to be pert, breasts are as well – except when they are perky!
Overused phrase: emptied himself. Unfortunately my sister has used this term for years when discussing her dog’s bowel movements (which she seems to do waay to often) – I therefore really notice when this phrase is used for the hero and it makes me shudder!
Worst offender: Lisa Kleypas
I am surprised that no one has brought up the all-time favorite nipple quote from science fiction grandmaster Robert Heinlein in _Number of the Beast_: “Our teeth grated and my nipples went spung” – I always picture some sort of lock mechanism being opened by their teeth colliding at just the right angle :->
the ‘pop’ does get 2 me 2…in my head she’s pelting food in her mouth…lol
@ Sarah Ginter…Johanna Lindsay once used the word fleece to describe the nether curls.
Said it before, will say it again: I so heart Maya Banks, but please may she or her editor start praying to the God of verbs to find another one than “amble.” Enough ambling already!! It is not a manner of movement I want in my man of action.
And “pool” … as another of Ms. Banks’ fans pointed out, a lot of things pool at her characters’ feet. Blood pools. Water pools. But I’m thinking one’s undies would have to be pretty darn big to pool. Not that there’s anything wrong with that….
How about “scuffed” as a substitute for “padded”? To show it’s been awhile since the last pedicure.
It’s not just you. I don’t understand how anyone can think ‘nubbin’ is a sexy word. It sounds like something you’d hang a coat on.
Can you cross reference authors, publishers & editors… maybe there’s just the pool of new editors who just ‘LOVE LOVE LOVE’ …. pert, padded, pooled,… or maybe it’s just those darn words that begin with the letter ‘P’!!!
Bone tired makes perfect sense to me. Maybe b/c when I’m extremely tired (which is frequently) it literally hurts all the way down to the bones.
I am soooo tempted to insert *piquantly stimulated* nipples into my manuscript just to see what the copy editor will say. 😉
That whole padding around in bare feet business has been getting up my nose for a while, now. Ugh.
If you read Julia Quinn, you will certainly find many, many uses of the phrase “ground out” in use when the hero or heroine is angry and speaking. Once you notice how much she uses it, when you read it, it jolts you right on out of the novel.
Surely there’s a list somewhere of euphemisms for erogenous zones!?
Happiness here: searched current manuscript for “pert” and found only hypertension, expert, expertise, and property (although I seemed to have a lot of experts with expertise, so I may need to reconsider that …) All uses of word “pad” were nouns or adjectives: keypad, knee pad, elbow pad (lots of soldiers wearing body armor), and padded seats. Not a single padding movement. Afraid to look for bone, though. Pretty sure I wrote that one yesterday.
huff or huffed, especially in m/m
You captured one without realizing—juncture of thighs. Or even worse, junction, presumably waiting for the big steamy choo choo of love.
@Janet Mullany—If you don’t mind, I’d like to pilfer your term “big steamy cho cho of love” for use in my current novel.
So tired of “core” in reference to the heroine’s magic hoo-ha. Makes me think of Pilates. I think this is not what the authors intend.