Q: soixante neuf (UNCLASSIFIED)

[ronbutters at AOL.COM]

I first heard this when I was 16 (this was long after the death of the poet Byron). I never heard it used in reference to anything other than male-male oral sex. One common usage was as an insult: "Let's 69--you be the 6 and I'll be the 9." A smart-assed way of saying, "Blow me, jerk."(I assume the 9 is the one standing up.). The normal meaning, I assumed, was that this represented a view from the ceiling of two people lying on a bed. The large part of the numbers are their heads.
------Original Message------
From: Mark Mandel
Sender: ADS-L
To: ADS-L
Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Q: soixante neuf (UNCLASSIFIED)
Sent: Oct 29, 2009 6:11 PM

On the meaning, I would define it not as "simultaneous cunnilingus and
fellatio", but as "simultaneous mutual oral sex". I remember hearing it with
reference to male-male pairings as well. Google /"gay 69"/ claims "about
58,200" hits; and /"lesbian 69"/ "about 128,000".

On the origin, I've always assumed it was not just from rotational symmetry
but iconic. But that's just my opinion.

m a m

On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 5:02 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:

>
> Does this have anything to do with a particular page #/position in the
> Kama Sutra?  Did it come from the rotationally symmetric appearance of
> the digits 6 and 9?  Is soixante neuf older than the English
> "sixty-nine" (meaning the same thing)?
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society On Behalf Of Joel S. Berson
> >
> > How far back does "soixante neuf" ("Simultaneous cunnilingus and
> > fellatio") go in English?  In French?  As early as Byron?
> >
> > The OED has 1888.
> >
> > Joel
>

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