"play Copenhagen"
Jonathan Lighter
wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM
Thu Jul 6 13:02:45 UTC 2006
OK, "Copenhagen" is a kissing game. From ProQuest:
1842 _Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Mag._ (June) XX 302: Did you ever attend a children's party and see the little dears play Copenhagen?
The boys seem to have an instinctive knack at kissing their partners.
1911 _Life_ (Aug. 31) LVIII 360: I then play Copenhagen with some girls twenty-one years of age...of whom I am passionately fond.
JL
Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Stephen Goranson
Subject: Re: "play Copenhagen"
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Quoting Jonathan Lighter :
> "Copenhagen" isn't in OED. The meaning is not clear.
>
> 1846 _Knickerbocker_ XLVII 405: Elly is a real blonde beauty: and
> neither of them seem [sic] likely to scream on the stair-case, or
> play Copenhagen.
>
> JL
Just guessing, but wouldn't "play Copenhagen" mean sing there in
concert rather
than play a game named Copenhagen?
Stephen
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