Every once in a while I hear Christian sisters say something like, “I feel so raunchy.” It is generally said following some outdoor physical activity in hot weather. I believe that I understand what they mean to say, but others may take quite a different meaning, one that would horrify the sisters who say it.

You see, while raunchy has a range of meanings, the underlying implication is generally of  sexual arousal. Here are definitions from three current Canadian dictionaries:

Nelson Gage: 1 lewd; indecent: raunchy songs bordering on the obscene. 2 smelly or dirty, esp. from body odour: raunchy sneakers. 3 vulgarly exuberant: Some of the fans got pretty raunchy.

Oxford: 1 coarse, earthy, sexually provocative. 2a (of the sound of an electric guitar) distorted. 2b (of music) featuring raunchy guitars. 3 esp. US: slovenly, grubby.

Collins: sexy or earthy

I am quite sure that sisters who use this word are thinking only in terms of definition 2 from the Nelson Gage dictionary or perhaps definition 3 from the Oxford dictionary. But what if the hearers understand it in terms of the first definition from all three dictionaries? I wish that Christians would retire this word to the ranks of the terminally uncool.