Nonsexual lickety-split

[Jonathan Lighter]

As an actual lexical item, sexual "lickety-split" is uncommon and, I'd wager, almost entirely jocular. But it is obvious that a great many people (particularly of the young male variety) find the word itself hilarious because it can be "interpreted" as sexual.

Earlier I mentioned Beavis and Butthead types in this regard.  The "Beavis and Butthead" phenomenon has not been studied by linguists, as far as I know. Example:

1.   _Maiden Aunt_ (oh, all right, _*Spinster* Aunt_) :  And he was gone, lickety-split !

_B or B_ : Huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh.  She said :  "Lickety-split."

The "B & B phenomenon" thus refers to the amused identification, aloud or silently, of unintended scatology in the words of others.

Here are two more exx. :

2.  _Ph.D_ :  Cortes was far less interested in establishing Spanish dominion over Mexico than he was in acquiring gold and booty from the Aztecs.

_Large Lecture Hall of Undergraduates_ [_think_ ] :   Huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh. He said: "Booty."

3.  _Philosopher_ :  Politics makes strange bed fellows.

_Foolosopher_ : Huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh.  You said : "Bed Fellows."


JL



David Bowie <db.list at PMPKN.NET> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: David Bowie
Subject: Nonsexual lickety-split
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't really been following the discussion of lickety-split and its
apparent avoidance by the mayor of New Orleans, due possibly to its
sexual meaning (which i hadn't previously been aware of at all), but i
just saw a non-sexual use of the term by another politician, as quoted
in the Washington _Post_:

Part of the inquiry will be allegations of price gouging, usually
a staple of the Democratic Party, but one the Republicans must
take up "in lickety-split time," said Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.).
"Our constituents demand it."

>From an article titled "GOP agenda in Congress may be at risk:
Katrina's costs, high fuel prices working against more tax cuts",
appearing on page A2 of the _Post_'s Sunday, 4 September edition,
available online at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301065_pf.html

It makes me wonder exactly how widespread the sexual meaning is.

--
David Bowie http://pmpkn.net/lx
Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.


---------------------------------
 Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.