Ficus - ficus is a type of ornamental tree popular in homes or waiting rooms. The Michael's arts and crafts store I worked at carried artificial ones. Somebody came up with the notion ficus sounded like a 'bad' word. From there it became "Ficus this / ficus that", "That's totally ficus" and so on beyond the scenes with employees. Can you think of other words that sound dirty / bad, but aren't? Let us know in replies.

English waif day - I'm sure most have heard of talk like a pirate day. This was similar, the idea being talk like a kid from a Charles Dicken's novel (think Tiny Tim or Oliver). This was at Border's books when the musical Les Misérables was popular, the soundtrack playing over the PA. Yeah, it's set in France, but Cosette singing Castle On a Cloud for the umpteenth time, you get the idea. Ever have a talk like day at your place of work?

"Psst, wanna buy an Elmo?" - Worked a couple toy stores over the years. There was always that one toy everybody wanted we were sent a limited supply of. Tickle Me Elmo was one, as was anything Barney, Teletubbies. Some felt we had them stockpiled, doling out a bit at a time. Not true, why wouldn't we put an item on the shelf to sell? In any case, behind the scenes "Psst, wanna buy an Elmo? For you, I make price." among workers. Ever work retail there was that one popular item for a while?

Bogus titles - a Blockbuster Video one. Occasionally customers would complain we didn't have a copy of some obscure film, but dozens of copies others. Well, that's because everybody wanted to rent the other, and you're the first to ask for a film that isn't even likely available on VHS, sorry. Hence, come up with a crazy title like 'Amazon Cannibal Slave Girls from Mars'. Ever watch a cheesy B grade sort of film?