What's the bad word? You'll find them in these titles

If you read Newsday's story on upcoming summer movies last week, one title might have caught your eye: "Dinner for Schmucks."

It's a comedy starring Paul Rudd and Steve Carell, which sounds harmless enough, but one Newsday reader took offense and noted in an e-mail that the word schmuck is Yiddish for a certain part of the male anatomy.

Newsday's stylebook specifically cites it as a word to avoid. But when it comes to movie titles, most newspapers are likely to print offending words as long as they aren't racial slurs or something truly beyond the pale.

The title of the superhero flick "Kick-Ass," for instance, didn't seem to cause much hand-wringing upon its release last month. (Perhaps the television series and 2002 feature-film "Jackass" had already paved the way.)

Likewise, the popular children's book "Walter the Farting Dog" has created little controversy, although one irate grandfather tried to ban it from a Wisconsin school library in 2004. The Jonas Brothers are starring in an upcoming movie adaptation, which many papers duly reported, complete with flatulent title.

For stylistic gatekeepers, there aren't many alternatives. Dashes, brackets and omissions don't seem to work. Would it be possible to review "Walter the Farting Dog" without ever printing the title? What would readers make of a movie called "Austin Powers: The Spy Who [Slept With] Me?"

That Rudd-Carell comedy is due for release in July. Most likely, Newsday won't be calling it "Dinner for -- ."