Live and learn: at a party yesterday, some friends introduced me to some lesser-known (to me, anyway) interpretations of my blog’s name, only slightly bent. A guy from UK told me “bent” is a British English slang expression for “homosexual”. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, an Australian girl said that down under, it hints of intoxication or being high. I had no idea of either of these meanings. Great.
So the matter clearly warranted some research. Digging into the authoritative source for American English – Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary – I’m told the following on the word bent:
(adj)
1. curved; crooked
2. determined; set; resolved
(n)
3. direction taken, as by one’s interests; inclination; leaning; bias
4. capacity or endurance
5. a transverse frame of a bridge or a building, designed to support either vertical or horizontal loads
6. bent state or form; curvature
- syn.
1. bowed; flexed
2. fixed
3. tendency, propensity, proclivity, predilection, disposition, penchant, partiality
No mention of anything too negative there. So far so good. But we only have to go to the authoritative British English dictionary – Oxford – to find that not only is it a slang expression for homosexual but also dishonest & corrupt. Things would be great if that was the extent of it, but unfortunately NTC’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions has an entry for bent also: in addition to returning to the meaning intoxicated, we get dishonest, crooked and angry.
The beauty of the situation is twofold. First, I get to choose which meaning I want it to be and I can with a clear conscience skip all the British English interpretations (no offense, anyone). Second, as I’ve explained earlier, confusion regarding the name of the site is good. So there you have my 2 cents on this issue. An enlightening insight into how even the most mundane of words can have unexpected alternative meanings.
So, risking the danger of attracting slightly gay British people or stoned Australians here, welcome to only slightly bent! 
Boy we had some fun with this yesterday! Would I laugh at you?
Little you know before that your site will also have this meaning
I like how you have taken it in your stride. And I had a hearty laugh too. Nice one, Sami.
Haha! I must admit I was wondering about the name of your blog, because I didn’t think you were slightly, or at all, bent. My husband is into Iain Banks too, so he explained to me about culture ships and it sort of, kind of, errr… started to make a bit more sense. I guess. ;-D