I leave tomorrow for some vanilla vacation time to visit my family. I won’t be back until late next week and while I may have the chance to check in here and there, I probably won’t have much of a regular blog update until I’m back home and settled in. So I’m going to leave you with a few tricky questions about spanking terms that were raised by Linde in response to the Defining Bare post.
How many smacks have to occur to make it a spanking? If you get smacked once, is that a spanking or were you just given a swat?
If a paddles is used, is it automatically a paddling or just a spanking with a paddle? Does the size of the paddle make a difference?
What constitutes a whippin’?
Mr. Owwwl, how many licks does it take to call it a spanking?
Here’s my take on the terms.
Spanking:
I don’t think one smack makes for a spanking. I think the term implies repetition and so if only one smack is delivered, it’s only a swat.
Paddling:
In my opinion, when a frat paddle is used in standing or bent over position, it’s a paddling. If a smaller paddle is used OTK, then I think of it as a spanking with a paddle.
Whippin’:
In Linde’s original question, she mentioned the term whippin’ being used in the south to refer to punishment given with a switch; interchangeable with the term switchin’. When I hear the word, I tend to think of punishment given with the belt, not the switch. Oddly enough, I’d probably least likely associate it with an actual whip although that definitely would be an accurate description.
On a little side note, I’ve also heard the term whuppin’ sometimes used as a varation of whippin’ or used to describe other very thorough punishments. I’m not crazy about this term. For some reason it conjures images or excessive brutatility even though the term isn’t necessarily meant to convey that. I picture someone having been defeated and beaten terribly in a fight as opposed to someone who received firm discipline exacted on their bottoms only. Weird how one slight variation, one little change in a vowel, can make that much of a difference in verbal association.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. Let me know what your interpretations of the terms are. It’s always really interesting to see others’ takes on terms based on their own opinions and experiences.
May 8th, 2009 - 4:46 pm
I agree with your definitions of spanking and paddling although “Did you just spank me” would be the question if you got an unexpected swat.
Whippin’ is to this Southern boy is what you get when you disobey either with a hickory (a switch oddly never from a hickory tree in my experience) or a belt. It is punishment (usually on the legs and buttocks and not terribly controlled) and doesn’t invoke the idea of a spanking.
A whuppin’ is what you get when you lose a fight. Of I suppose if you take a beatin’ when being punished, meaning far and above what might be deserved or corrective.
May 8th, 2009 - 5:46 pm
Yes – spanking must imply repeated, and perhaps oft repeated, blows – but to me with the hand usually. One or just a few swats would to me be a smacking. “A smacked bottom” in childhood was never the same threat as “a spanking”.
When an implement is used – small paddle, brush or whatever – that would be a “spanking with….”.
I agree with you about a paddling: that must be quasi judicial – the equivalent of an English caning – standing and bent over.
Again to us in England I think a whipping would imply being beaten with a thin cord or belt – or of course with a many stranded whip. A “whupping” is what one football team or one boxer does to another when there is complete dominance. I have heard the phrase used of a football (ie soccer – not your sort) match “we whupped them good”.
Anyway, that is all by the by – please enjoy your “vanilla vacation” – and be thankful for all that families do.
May 8th, 2009 - 5:47 pm
PS ; sprry to come back. If a belt orf tawse is used, we would always refer to a belting or a tawsing – or, to use a good old English word which I remember well from my youth: a “leathering”.
May 8th, 2009 - 5:54 pm
My humble opinion.
Spanking,
To me means at least a double figure amount of smacks less are a just a few smacks.
Paddling,
To be honest does not really mean anything to me, Slippering is more familiar in my little part of the world.
Whippin,
Leather belt or strap springs to mind.
May 8th, 2009 - 7:55 pm
Hi Pixie!
I agree with your definitions down the line.
Have a good vacation if you can and remember to mix a little Bubble Yum with your otherwise vanilla outing!
Cheers!
May 8th, 2009 - 10:06 pm
This post reminds me of the “Coffee Talk” Saturday Night Live sketches….
It’s like you just said, “. . . talk amongst yourselves!”
May 8th, 2009 - 10:27 pm
Well, pour yourself a cup, Boatsman, and join in. Not feeling verklempt are you?
May 8th, 2009 - 11:27 pm
No, I’m not feeling at all “verklempt”. But I’m still wondering whether the Holy Roman Empire was at all 1) Holy 2) Roman or 3) An empire. Once I have that question sorted out, I’ll move on to your topics.
-Alan
May 9th, 2009 - 2:02 am
Now thats funny. How would you know that Mike Myers bit at your age?
May 9th, 2009 - 4:53 am
Maybe I’m being influenced by the image of the owl and the way the old Tootsie Pop commercial went, but to my mind it just can’t be called a spanking unless there are at least three swats. However, the more I think about it, I think it has more to do with position than with number: For it to be a spanking, the spankee has to be in some sort of spanking position — either OTK; or bent over a table or chair or couch arm; or lying prone, perhaps over pillows; or in the diaper position, for those into that; etc. Getting swats while standing up is, well, getting swats while standing up — very possibly painful and bottom-reddening, but not a spanking, to my mind.
I think being spanked OTK with something like a ping pong paddle could be called either a paddling or a spanking — it’s both. On the other hand, a traditional school-style paddling (bent over a desk, table, chair back or whatever), is only a spanking in the traditional, dictionary-definition sense: While it would be technically correct to call it a spanking, to do so would be rather misleading.
A whippin(g), to me, could involve any implement which “gives” — changes shape to some extent — as it is used. Switch, belt, strap, and tawse would all fall into this category.
I completely agree that the “whuppin’” is a buzz-kill.
Thanks for another excellent, thought-provoking question. Have a great week with the family!
May 9th, 2009 - 6:58 am
Pixie i think a spanking would be a lot of spanks ,yes it is alright now thank goodness wouldnt want to miss you and P.B.cutie ,another nice girl i saw on television is Taylor Swift the young singer what a polite cutie, she bought a collar and dog biscuits for the hosts dog good singer as well very pleasant .hope you have a nice time with your family we shall keep watching the vids ,lots of love and spanks,tim xxxx
May 9th, 2009 - 8:34 am
Where I grew up, if you heard the term “whoopin” (whippin’) it very much meant with the belt.
g.
May 9th, 2009 - 8:36 am
I think there are two types of spanking one is the punishment spanking that you dont get ever often the other is the spanking that a perdon gets because they like to be spanked or our making money at.
Ill go with the punishment spanking. A spanking is someone that crys and there bottom turns red that could be as little as 15 swats. A spanking or whippin are the same thing A paddling is with a paddle. Have a good day Bye Bye Ed
May 9th, 2009 - 9:13 am
As someone who was on the receiving end many times growing up in the Deep South, here was the terminology:
“whipping”: belt to the bottom, by father
“switching”: switch to the legs, by mother
“spanking”: hand to the bottom, usually by mother
no name: wooden spoon to the hand, by mother
May 9th, 2009 - 10:37 am
Pixie,
Interesting post. I agree with the definitions you’ve given; it’s just that I never really thought about it before–I always learn something new..:)
Thanks!
May 9th, 2009 - 11:59 am
I agree with your definition of spanking and whippin’.
However, I feel that “paddling” would be the term when anything rigid is used, regardless of position or size of implement.
Interesting discussion question!
May 9th, 2009 - 2:02 pm
Pixie, I agree with all your definitions. Just a side comment though: I don’t care for the words whippin’,whoopin’, beatin’…or any of those words with the “g” used at the end, either.
They all seem harsh to me. I think part of it is that I’m a New England girl. But “beating” was a term used up North, and I didn’t like the sound of it at all.
In fantasy (which preceded the real thing for many years), the words and phrases in my head were spanking, paddling, getting your bottom tanned, warmed, etc.
I guess I tend to lean toward the softer side of spanking.
May 9th, 2009 - 4:37 pm
Maybe you should consult a dictionary. Is there such a spanko type dictionary in existence?
Glad you will be visiting your mom on Mother’s Day. Do you send any Mother’s Day wishes to Veronica as well?
May 9th, 2009 - 10:22 pm
Pixie,
I feel somewhat honored that you used some of my questions for a blog topic. I have spoken with people who hold all of the views above at some point in my life. I personally feel much like yourself in that one or two spanks or smacks do not make a spanking. 3 is my favorite number so, even though there is no dictionary definition defining the number of spanks/swats, I feel that 3 or more could be called a spanking. Position is to be taken into consideration also since once a person is OTK, Over a chair or back of a couch and a few (few = 3 or more) spanks/smacks are applied than most would say they have been spanked. Bending over and grabing your ankles while a large/rigid wooden object impacts your clothed or bare bottom is definately a paddling. Other variations are debateable. If a cane is used it is a caning.
My purpose in raising these questions is more along the lines of common terminology to be used in communicating with someone unfamiliar to you that you are considering playing with …. even in a pure disciplinary manner. You both need to be on the (sorry for the cliche..lol) SAME PAGE, even if your methods or desires are different.
If you’re still being spanked past a certain age (and we could debate the age) there probably isn’t a question about the number of spanks you will recieve because it will be well past 3. LOL
Most importantly if you’re into spanking and you interact with someone who is into S & M …. you need to know this in some manner other than a first-hand unexpected experience.
(But that brings up a whole new topic of “At what point is the line drawn between spankos and people into serious S & M?)
The answer …. Comminication, and more communication!!!!
Have a great trip, Pixie!!!
Linde
May 10th, 2009 - 6:22 am
Dear Pixie,
“How many smacks have to occur to make it a spanking? If you get smacked once, is that a spanking or were you just given a swat?”
A spank is just that–one spank. It is not a spanking (although I know of one girl who would disagree. She would always refer to just one smack as a “spanking”). To me, a spanking would have to be a series of swats to the bottom, from start to finish. In other words, a spanking is the whole meal…..not just a little appetizer.
“If a paddles is used, is it automatically a paddling or just a spanking with a paddle? Does the size of the paddle make a difference?”
That’s a tough one for me, ’cause I’ll sometimes tell a lady that I’m going to paddle her bottom, but it’s just an expression meaning “a spanking”–no paddle is actually involved.
I suppose I’d say that a session that involves a paddle from start to finish would be a “paddling”. But if the spanking started off by hand, and then a paddled was brought in later on–that’s a spanking with a paddle.
And for a change, size doesn’t matter….
“What constitutes a whippin’?”
I’m like you on this one…I hear that phrase and I never think of an actual whip. A whippin’ is probably something with a stingy and flexible implement…i.e., something kind of “whippy”. A switch or a belt come to mind…
Dr. Ken
May 11th, 2009 - 11:59 am
How is it that I always “get stupid” whenever you come along? I have several sensible answers to those questions, but they’ve flown away since you just sat on my lap (well, that’s what it seems like anyway).
Somehow your delicate feminine presence has crept into your writings and are making me growl as well as smile with delight. I guess I must have fallen in love with you, do you think? I promise I won’t say any more about it, especially since you’re a married woman, but I do think that’s the reason you’re making me stupid. And if you were my girl I’d have to spank you for it : )
Hugs and best wishes.
SS.
May 12th, 2009 - 7:34 am
Pixie enjoyed the previewvideo less spankees this time so they took more spanks good to have Susan back dealing with you naughty girls lol.look forward to your return ,it is windy here today ,we live in a village near the sea love and spanks from tim xxxx
May 13th, 2009 - 2:17 pm
I pretty much share your opinion Pixie a single swat is just that playful smack.
A paddling is where nothing but the paddle is used.
As far as a whipping goes that means an actual whip is used. Usually I picture it as a person being tied up and whipped, though I only like the playful whipping and not the abusive kind where the back gets all torn up. I never liked the bruising and flesh getting torn.
Liebe Grüße!
Drew
Ps. thanks for fixing my pb account access.
May 14th, 2009 - 7:09 pm
It’s the details in life upon which larger things turn and, in our little corner of the world, which provide the material for great fantasy. Words and terms one comes to know early on can leave a lasting impression as to what they mean, and can determine what constitutes the acceptable or unacceptable. Even though I was an avid observer of all things spanking-related from a very early age, it wasn’t until I came south of the Mason-Dixon Line at the age of 8 that I heard anything said beyond “get a spanking” or “get the belt.” I saw plenty of spankings carried out, in both places, but the Southern folk just seemed to have more to say about it.
Smack/swat/spank vs. spanking:
Not a playful pat, a single whack is a promise or threat of more to come; a “behave yourself – or else (there’s more where that came from),” even if given in an “and that’s final!” manner. The mother of some neighbors used to swat or smack her children’s bottoms each time she’d tell them to do something to make sure they knew she meant business and complied immediately. No reason a smack has to be delivered over a fully clothed bottom or to someone who’s standing, either. Having one’s skirt lifted or being briskly taken OTK and getting a single hard smack, often in front of playmates, was a pretty common experience for kids in my neighborhood.
Paddling:
When I first encountered this term, after moving to Florida (long, long ago), it was used to denote a somewhat lighter and less intense punishment than a full-blown spanking. An actual paddle was used, delivered OTK, though it was usually thin and light-weight, intended to create a superficial but significant sting rather than a deep and long-lasting soreness. In that context, if a paddle were used to inflict the same level of punishment as a brush or even a hard-hitting hand, then I think it becomes a spanking with a paddle.
Whippin’:
Another term first encountered when I came south, and it seemed to be used to mean any punishment beyond a paddling, though the numerous examples I observed only involved a vigorous application of a switch or belt to a standing child (who was taken firmly in hand and could only dance to avoid the lashings). Beyond a “whippin’” was a strapping, but was rare as it entailed the use of a razor strop, though kids I met from rural areas could give ample testimony to its efficacy.
As for Whuppin’, my impression of this word is the same as yours, Pixie, and might’ve come from the same cultural source. Depending on context (i.e., “I’m tarred, wore out, and completely whupped” doesn’t count), I consider it, along with “thrashed” and “beating,” to mean something that’s beyond the borders of “spanking” per se. Other words, however, such as “whale,” and “blister” seem to me, having also grown up with them, a bit less threatening an perhaps even a little amusing (“One more word outa yew, young lady, an’ Imaw take you over my knee and whale tail” or “If you don’t get in here this instant, I’m gonna blister your bare behind!”). Oohh, goody!
May 14th, 2009 - 11:21 pm
Hmmm.
I’d say a single smack constitutes a spank and a spanking implies plural smacks. Of course use of implements counts as a spanking too, so terms are interchangable. I think that a paddling is any spanking given with a broad flat implement (either hard or soft as leather paddles are often used) and that a whippin’ or whuppin’ implies a thin flexible ‘whippy’ implement such as a cane, switch or dog toy! The phrase may come from the school system where students could get ‘whipped’ and probably did! The word ‘whuppin’ is probably a corruption of ‘whippin’ or may mean a similar event with whatever comes to hand (pun intended) or, as you pointed out, a nasty fight.
Speaking of whippin’ I wonder just how many ‘dogs’ your recent escapades earned you. Between leaving the window open and cuddling poison oak, you were promised several spankings! With that in mind, and please forgive my presumption, could you show some pictures of the results as I have never seen a crop used in the manner you described.
May 16th, 2009 - 2:43 am
whuppin is nothing but a southern slang word for whippin that has caught on somehow.
July 20th, 2009 - 12:53 am
Please . . . one swat is just spankus interruptus. And the word ‘whuppin’ always makes me think of Little House where Pa Ingalls was forever threatening to give Half-Pint one. However, this usually meant talking to her with a somber expression on his face. So no, I don’t associate the word with undue brutsality. I associate it with gingham and calico.