Guts vs Balls

Some words have ambiguities. These terms possess lots of definitions and meanings depending on how they are used in day to day conversations. Like the words guts and balls, both terms can pertain to common slangs, expressions, or body parts.

When guts and balls are differentiated in their anatomical sense, guts will usually pertain to the GI (gastrointestinal) or digestive tract of the human body whereas balls are best identified with the male testicles. People often use the word guts when describing the intestines. As we all know, the intestines or the digestive tract as a whole is the body system that processes the food that people eat from the moment of ingestion up to the point of excretion. For example, in a meat shop the customer and the meat vendor will usually come into common understanding that they are talking about the intestines of the pork when either one of them will ask about the guts. On the contrary, when men have a fancy talk about their sexual organs they sometimes use the word balls when referring to their testes instead of using the longer term testicles. Being part of the male reproductive system, the testicles (testes) is already of common knowledge to everyone that signifies men’s virility. Perhaps both terms are much shorter and easier to use that’s why people have come to accept guts and balls to refer to the said internal organs of the human body.

Secondly, guts and balls can also be understood as slangs. Most especially for the Westerners, they have become accustomed with using both terms in their daily conversations. Unfortunately, people use guts and balls often but still fail to notice the difference or at least know how each term is properly used. Although the difference in meaning is way too narrow, guts and balls can best be differentiated in the following situations:

Ø ‘Guts’ can be used when a certain adolescent male spends a night out with his beer buddies then comes home very late at night and is hit by the broom of his mom and still have the guts to make a side comment of ‘Mom, are you still sweeping the floor this late?’ The boy is like making a funny insult to his mom in spite of having committed an obvious wrong. This boy still had the ‘nerve’ to comment that way.

Ø ‘Balls’ can be used when the same boy mentioned above returns home with his beer buddies then has the balls to ask ‘Mom, can we continue our alcohol drinking session inside?’ Clearly, this boy still had the ‘courage’ to say such to his mom.

All in all, balls and guts differ in the following aspects:

1. In anatomy, guts usually pertain to the digestive tract specifically the intestine whereas balls pertain to the male sexual organ testes or testicles.

2. In slangs, balls can pertain to one’s ‘courage’ whereas guts is like still having the ‘nerve’ to say an insult even after doing something really bad to the person who was already insulted.

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