I'm taking a class in phonology, called The Nature of Language. One day in class we were discussing how speakers of a language sometimes combine two words to form a new word. The professor is from Africa and apparently she had asked students of previous classes to write down examples since she was not familiar with the colloquial vocabulary. She started reading the list without glancing up: "Smog, as in smoke plus fog; brunch, spork, schlong..."

Everyone around me kept copying the list, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. I glanced up and looked around the room. I met eyes with one of the more vocal members of the class and we exchanged confused looks. He raised his hand and asked, "So what is 'schlong' formed from?'" She gave him an incredulous look as she explained that it meant short and long, of course. Much laughing and mirth ensued. He explained the actual meaning, and now that I think about it, I've never seen anyone (much less a black woman) turn so red.

And that is the schlong of that story.