I am writing a blog tentatively titled "Particle Filters: Groping in the Dark for Robots". It struck me that groping has a strong sexual connotation too, so I researched if the idiom groping in the dark also has a negative connotation too. I asked an editor friend and she suggested changing the title because non-native speakers who are more familiar with groping (in the sexual sense) and may not be familiar with the other meaning of cluelessnes may take offence to the title.
I would like to understand if there are any such connotations in modern usage and whether using the title has even the slightest chance of being offensive.
Best Answer
"Groping in the dark" is a long-established idiom for "aimlessly grasping for something", literally or figuratively. It could be used (with a wink) to imply something sexual, or it could be misinterpreted by someone not familiar with the vernacular to imply something sexual, but it is not (in the US, at least) a term one must avoid in general writing or speaking, where context might not imply a sexual meaning. After all, probably about 20% of English words might be used with a sexual connotation.