dirty words in dict ionaries revisted

[Baker, John]

        Generally it's supposed that "and" ("her very C's, her U's, 'n' her T's") represents the letter N.  However, a poster at http://www.shaksper.net/archives/2002/1676.html asserts that "cut" is a late medieval and Tudor slang word for "cunt," and that he has found it so used in several plays.  Is there any support for this?  I am once again traveling and unable to check independently.

John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Laurence Horn
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 8:27 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: dirty words in dict ionaries revisted


>And of course (maybe this was mentioned earlier?) the reference to
>"her C's, her U's, her N's her T's, from whence cometh her big P's"
>(inexact quote) in
>Shakespeare's 12th NIGHT would have been published--and of course
>revered--throughout the 19th Century in the USA and througout the world.
>

The more exact line is a bit less explicit:

MALVOLIO
By my life, this is my lady's hand these be her very C's, her U's and
her T's and thus makes she her great P's. It is, in contempt of
question, her hand.

No N's in sight; perhaps left to the reader/audience to insert ad libitum.

Larry