where did this originate? I know it is short for private detective but why shorten it to 'dick'?
Didn't anyone think it was an odd term at the time? Or did 'dick' not mean the same thing in the 40s/50s? The same way that 'gay' means something different then as to now.
I still wanta know why the name "Dick" is a nickname for "Richard." The two names are nothing alike!
shareI too have wondered this and who would want to be called "Dick", over "Rick" or "Ricky".
shareYeah, I mean, most nicknames are a shortened or "cute" version of the longer adult name, such as
Elizabeth - Lizzy, Eliza, Liz
Antonio - Tony
Margaret - Maggie
Charlotte - Charly
Samuel - Sam
Thomas - Tommy, Tom
Rebecca - Becky
Nowhere in the name "Richard" can I find a reason to use the word "dick" as a nickname. Only way you can get it is through cheating with an anagram.
Also-
Margaret - Peggy
Edward - Teddy
William - Billy
Dorothy - Dottie
Alexander - Sasha
Some nicknames are a stretch for the original.
Did a quick search and this is what I found.
https://www.private-investigator-info.org/private-dick.html