Some people are simply too uncomfortable to explicitly refer to menstruation.
Do to embarrassment, a sense of modesty, or even a wicked desire to mortify their teenage daughters, some prefer to employ euphemisms to talk about that time of the month — and seem to think saying ‘that time of the month’ won’t do.
In a recent Reddit thread, dozens of users chimed in to share their own unique terminology for periods (and the products that women on their periods use).
It’s Shark Week! Redditors have shared some of their favorite euphemisms for menstruation
On Wednesday, a man asked Reddit users to teach him ‘some slang terms a 50-year old-dad can say to his daughter to embarrass her.’
One woman wrote about her dad’s habit of making up strange ways to describe her monthly flow.
‘My dad makes up a bunch of euphemisms for menstruation that are much worse than saying “Are you on your period?”‘ she wrote. ‘He’ll very loudly announce: “Are you on your P?” “Do you need SUPPLIES?”‘
Quite a few other Redditors thought his question about ‘supplies’ was quite funny, and offered up their own silly terms.
‘My dad always asks if I’m having “Technical Difficulties” instead of having my period,’ wrote one, prompting similar responses like ‘under construction’ and ‘down for maintenance.’
‘Mine always asks if I’m having “some punctuation,”‘ wrote another.
Several had communist themes, like ‘falling to the communists’ and ‘the communists are in the funhouse.’
Others referred to the moon (since menstruation cycles are similar in length to moon cycles), calling it ‘moon flow’ and ‘moon sickness.’
A particularly creative Redditor came up with some funny euphemisms on the spot, like ‘Has nature turned back on the blood spigot?’ ‘Are you experiencing crotch emissions?’ and ‘Oh, does once more the wondrous miracle of your womanhood give forth the monthly gift of cleansing, that your cycle may begin anew?’
A few use names, like Aunt Flo, Aunt Ida, George, and Tom (an acronym for Time Of the Month). Of course, there’s also the ever-popular ‘Shark Week.’
Many commenters also knew of nicknames for feminine hygiene products like pads and tampons — including ‘provisions,’ ‘up norths,’ ‘party favors,’ and ‘plugs’.
This is not the first time that Redditors have shared their favorite terms for the end of a woman’s cycle. In past threads, people have offered up sayings like ‘the Massacre of the Unborn,’ ‘the Red Menace is upon us,’ and — in Cincinnati, Ohio — ‘the Reds are playing downtown.’