Clashing slang

[Wilson Gray]

Back in 1949(?), I read a story by Damon Knight entitled, "Not With a
Bang." This title struck me as so hip that it introduced me to, and
made me a fan of, T.S. Eliot, one of Saint Louis's most famous native
sons. Only a few moments ago, however, did it strike me that this
title is a pun.

The story is about a jerk, probably the last man on earth, who
ultimately fails in his efforts to seduce a woman, probably the last
woman on earth, so as to begin the repopulation of the world with
humanity.

_Bang_ as a slang term meaning

"engage(ment) in sexual intercourse"

does not exist in the BE of my generation. However, by sheer
coincidence, the old, (white) college drinking-song with the words,

"He banged her once / He banged her twice / He banged her once too often ..."

was running through my mind. Then... *Flash!* It hit me:

"This is the way the world ends / *Not* with a _bang_"!
--
-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
–Mark Twain

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