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

[neil]

on 8/18/05 1:01 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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> Thanks, Neil.  But "duff" = penis?  "Duff-flogger" ?  You gotta be kidding me
> !
>
> Maybe in some parallel universe, but not in the America I know !
>
> (Where do they get this stuff ?)
>
> JL
'... actually there is no one accepted sexual pattern in man's nature. Laws
don't help to clear the air. In Washington, D.C., there is a law against
masturbation that could lead a duff-flogger to a prison term.'
--Stephen Longstreet [ed], 'Nell Kimball: My Life as a Madam', Granada,
London, 1981 [page ref lost]

--Neil Crawford

>
> neil <neil at TYPOG.CO.UK> wrote:
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: neil
> Subject: Re: pussy," adj. = weak; effeminate; cowardly; unmanly; soft or
> easy eno
>
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>
> Current "duff' usage in UK is largely confined to an expression indicating
> pregnancy = 'up the duff'.
>
> Victorian UK usage was as both buttocks and female genitals.
>
> An American book, possibly by an English author, has the female genital
> sense in the 1970s:
> 'He slid towards me, pinning me in the corner. His hand forced its way
> between my thighs, fingers touching the hairs around my duff.'
> --Lu Stack, 'Anybody's Girl', Bee-Line Books, NY [1970s, page ref lost]
>
> I see that the US also has "duff" as penis, hence "duff-flogger" = male
> masturbator.
>
> -- Neil Crawford
>
> on 8/17/05 7:04 PM, Jonathan Lighter at wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
>> Subject: Re: pussy," adj. = weak; effeminate; cowardly; unmanly; soft or
>> easy eno
>>
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> --> -
>>
>> Thanks, Neil. "Walter" also uses "duff," which ( like "fanny" ) solely means
>> "butt" in the U.S. Is this still current in U.K.? ( OED has "buttocks" sense
>> only, fr. "?1837." )
>>
>> JL
>>
>>
>> neil wrote:
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>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: neil
>> Subject: Re: pussy," adj. = weak; effeminate; cowardly; unmanly; soft or
>> easy eno
>>
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> --> -
>>
>> on 8/17/05 3:45 PM, Jonathan Lighter at wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>>> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
>>> 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" wrote:
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>>> 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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