pussy," adj. = weak; effeminate; cowardly; unmanly; soft or easy eno

[neil]

on 8/17/05 3:45 PM, Jonathan Lighter at wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: pussy," adj. = weak; effeminate; cowardly; unmanly; soft or
> easy         eno
>
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> Actually, the overtly sexual "pussy" is solidly attested from the late 19th
> C.  Your cite does show just how pervasive it had become by 1960.  (When was
> the last time you heard a non-child refer to a "kitty" as a "pussy" ?)
>
> It's the adj./n. relating to weakness and cowardice that I'm asking about.
>
> Of course, any pre-1960 *printed* exx. of the pudendal synonym that you may
> have lying around would be of interest simply because they're so rare.
>
> JL
>
Don't know whether you have this citation:

'I had seen the girl's virgin cunt, and recollect the look of pussy, belly,
thighs, and slit.'
--Anon, 'My Secret Life c1888-94, [Grove Press edition, page 222]

--Neil Crawford
>
> "James A. Landau" <JJJRLandau at AOL.COM> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "James A. Landau"
> Subject: Re: pussy," adj. = weak; effeminate; cowardly; unmanly; soft or
> easy eno
>
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>
> In a message dated Tue, 16 Aug 2005 08:05:35 -0700, Jonathan Lighter
> _wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM_ (mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM) writes:
>
>
>> 3. In 1969, the word becomes common in print, presumably owing to the
> relaxed attitude
>> toward publishing previously taboo language.
>>
>> a. The sources strongly suggest that the word, so used, originated in
> Black
>> English. Comments ?
>>
>> b. Can anyone offer strong testimonial evidence that they were
> quite familiar with >the adj. before the late 1960s ?
>
>
>
> George N. Allen _Undercover Teacher_ np: Doubleday, 1960, ASIN: B0007DW8ZK
> the author, describing his experiences teaching in a New York City public
> school (I don't have the book available and don't remember the grade he was
> teaching) describes reading "The Owl and the Pussycat" to his students and
> having them react to the double-entendre on the word "pussy". Hence the sexual
> meaning of "pussy" was widespread among New York teenagers by 1960. It is most
> likely that Allen's class was racially integrated, which certainly does not
> rule out that this meaning of "pussy" came from Black English.
>
> Totally OT: I just discovered that New Jersey has a Downe Township.
>
> - James A. Landau
>
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