How to use this word: dish

[GoodTaste]

Is the word "dish" still in use when referring to "a sexually attractive person"?

Cambridge Dictionary says it is old-fashioned and it reminds me of Titanic in which the old Rose says "Am I a dish?" proudly as she holds her naked portrait.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English says it is sometimes offensive if it refers to "an attractive girl or woman": The receptionist is quite a dish.

But it doesn't tell us when it is offensive and when it is not. The Rose of Titanic was only 18 when her nude body was portraited. Rose uses the word pleasantly.

 

[PeterCW]

I would say that it is a little old fashioned but not anachronistic.

Terms like that can be offensive to women in general and the subject in particular but may still be heard in all male company.

 

[jutfrank]

I've never heard the word applied to a woman before, only to a man. Similarly, the related adjective dishy.

There's nothing particularly offensive about it. Quite the contrary, in fact—one would be flattered if one knew one had been described as such.

 

[PeterCW]

I've never heard the word applied to a woman before, only to a man. Similarly, the related adjective dishy.

There's nothing particularly offensive about it. Quite the contrary, in fact—one would be flattered if one knew one had been described as such.

I have heard both. I also know women who would consider any comment on their appearance from a stranger, however flattering, as offensive.

 

[jutfrank]

In British English, these words (dish/dishy) would not typically be used in comments to strangers. I would say they would most typically be used by older women (they both seem to me a bit old-fashioned now) when talking about an attractive man.

I'm obviously just generalising here. You can find pretty much any word being used in any kind of way if you listen hard enough.

 

[GoodTaste]

I have heard both. I also know women who would consider any comment on their appearance from a stranger, however flattering, as offensive.

It is OK that we say “Are you alright?" to a stranger, but is it offensive or inappropriate to say "Are you comfortable?" to a stranger? (It seems to me that "comfortable" is more about body feeling and thus it is possibly offensive, especially for women. I am not sure.)

 

[jutfrank]

It is OK that we say “Are you alright?" to a stranger, but is it offensive or inappropriate to say "Are you comfortable?" to a stranger?

What do you mean? Why would you possibly say either of those things to a stranger?

 

[GoesStation]

It is OK that we say “Are you [STRIKE]alright[/STRIKE] all right?" to a stranger, but is it offensive or inappropriate to say "Are you comfortable?" to a stranger?

They're both perfectly fine in the right context. I remember suffering an asthma attack, years ago, and treating it with a rescue inhaler in the men's room (toilet) of a movie theater. I was having a lot of difficulty breathing and a stranger asked me, "Are you all right?" Talking to a stranger in a men's toilet is practically taboo in American society, so he allowed his concern for my condition to overcome a serious social barrier — but the question was appropriate and acceptable in that situation.

 

[Tdol]

The current Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister), Rishi Sunak, of the UK is regarded as handsome by many and is known as Dishy Rishi.