Appropisms

Some years ago, after diving on a wreck in the Philippines and getting her first glimpse of cephalopods in the wild, my wife was writing about her experience and she spelled “cuttlefish” as “cuddlefish.”

When I pointed out her error, she smiled and said, “well, it’s an honest mistake. With all those arms, what fish could possibly cuddle better?”

Eighteen years later and I can’t think of a reason she’s wrong. Clearly, the spelling needs to be changed.

NB: is calling a cuttlefish’s appendages “arms” too anthro-normative? Would love a ruling from the anti-Speciesism crowd. I would never want to offend: as a scuba diver I prefer cordial relations with our cephalopod friends.