Poontang

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jul 22, 2004, at 11:47 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:

> ...I have serious doubt as to whether "poontang" generally has/had any
> racial
> overtone at all. This is a little complicated and I won't go into it
> now.

i can vouch for a race-neutral usage (by a college friend from
louisville, ky., who occasionally announced, "i'm goin' to get me some
poontang tonight", and occasionally did; everybody involved was white).
  i believe others can vouch for a race-restricted usage.  i doubt that
there's real evidence as to which usage was/is "general"; it's very
likely to be a matter of usage varying across times and places and
social groups.

arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)