this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026
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The "L" is very subtle in most American accents and is typically pronounced using the back of the tongue, so it really does sound like "cock" if you're not paying attention to the conversation.
If you're in a construction crew and accentuate the "L" sound specifically to avoid the implication of penis, you can pretty much guarantee the rest of the crew will catch on immediately and flood the conversation with dick jokes just to troll you.
It's not the L. Where I'm from, the vowel sounds are different. Cock - like the O in "box". Caulk - like "aw", as in "dawn" (it is worth noting that much of the US has been losing the "aw" sound in that word, so that's probably why I'm the odd one out).
Valid point, regional pronunciations vary as well.
Still, pretty much everyone who deals with caulk has made a dick joke about it at some point.