Antedating? of "shot his wad" 1896

[Wilson Gray]

On Sep 19, 2004, at 6:52 PM, Mullins, Bill wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating? of "shot his wad" 1896
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> Isn't wad a synonym for (noun) ejaculate?

That and the obvious variant, "dickwad"/"dick wad."

>  Is that where Johnny "Wad" Holmes
> (male porn star) got his nickname?

His name was John Holmes. "Johnny Wadd"[sic] was the name of the
character - a private eye - that he played in his movies. His
character's name is obviously a pun. That fact that he was a _private_
eye is probably also a pun, given such terms as "privates," "private
parts," etc.

-Wilson Gray

>  Thus making sexual meanings more
> appropriate.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Jonathan Lighter [mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM]
>> Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2004 5:50 PM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: Antedating? of "shot his wad" 1896
>>
>>
>>
>> Since to have "shot one's wad" means "to have exhausted
>> oneself; become played out," etc., sexual applications should
>> have occurred almost immediately.
>>
>> JL.
>>
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