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The Baltic sea just had a once-in-a-century storm surge this fall. There was little danger since the baltic sea is rather well protected, but many local dikes weren't up for the job, resulting in quite some damage (in general, the houses on my island were mostly unscathered).
Took us the better of two months to drain the water from the island, and in the meantime we had to hike along the more robust dikes to get to the harbor.
We also had to empty our lakes of saltwater to attempt and save our fire-bellied toads, as the Copenhagen Zoo is trying to preserve the species on the island.
First of all, dyke is not a good word to call lesbians. And also it's unfair to expect them to build things against super strong storms, construction is mostly a hobby for most of them. And third- oh you're talking about dams.
Yeah, I've been bamboozled by this before. Found out that both "dike" and "dyke" mean "water barrier" but also can be slurs.
I guess it depends on context and audience, though, I hope the context is clear in this case. :P
Edit: Also, "dam" doesn't fit since it's an island and not a river or lake. The island does have dams, but those are not nearly as important as the dikes.
Dikes or pair of dikes also refers to diagonal cutters. (Look like pliers with blades instead of jaws at the end) They are used for cutting sheet metal, also, wire cutters are also called dikes. Can also be used as a verb: Dike off the corner of that piece of steel, or, dike out that part of the circuit.
My wife is bi and it always messes with her when I say it. Just a trade term.