If you thought semantics was boring, you've obviously never talked semantically to me.

When you work in the field I do (interpreting; not speech), there's almost no such thing as too much information. Tonight, I was reminded once again just how much I love my job. I love it because random words like 'phallic' pop up from time to time, and invariably, I wind up getting into a huge discussion of what, exactly, the word means.

Phil: Phallic relates to the penis. Coworker: Not exclusively. It can be related to the vagina. Phil: Since when? A phallus is a penis. Coworker: But it can be feminine. Phil: It's a penis! Coworker: ... Phil: It's a penis.

As it turns out, we were both right. According to Merriam-Websiter online, 'phallic' can be relating to or being the stage of psychosexual development in psychoanalytic theory that follows the anal stage and during which a child becomes interested in his or her own sexual organs. But a 'phallus' is still a dick.