Common STD Slang Terms, Explained
STDs have picked up a long list of nicknames and slang terms over the decades — some clinical shorthand, some older folk terms, some just crude. Here's a quick reference for the ones people actually search for.
STD nicknames
The clap — gonorrhea. Crabs — pubic lice (not technically an STD in the infection sense, but sexually transmitted). VD — venereal disease, an older umbrella term for what's now usually called STDs or STIs. The drip — a nickname referencing discharge, usually associated with gonorrhea or chlamydia. Syph — shorthand for syphilis.
Why the terminology keeps shifting
Clinical language has moved toward "STI" (sexually transmitted infection) over "STD" in recent years, mainly because "infection" more accurately covers conditions that often cause no symptoms — which describes a lot of STIs a lot of the time. Slang terms tend to lag behind clinical language by decades, which is part of why older nicknames still circulate even though they're not medically preferred anymore.