MERKIN in the OED

[Laurence Horn]

At 12:38 PM +0000 11/9/02, Jonathon Green wrote:
>
>There is also this recent variant:
>
>1997-2001 The Online Slang Dictionary [Internet] merkin n 1. a
>straight man married to or involved with a lesbian. The lesbian may
>be in the public eye and may have a merkin to hide the fact that she
>is a lesbian
>
For a female's beard.  Very cute.  (Presumably, like the default
beard, it could also refer to a man who escorts a lesbian on a given
night out, not necessarily a man who's married to or seriously
involved with a lesbian.  The deception is the key part.)  I've still
never quite understood why a woman who performs this service for a
gay man is called his beard, but that's another issue.

larry