"Plough with the favorite heifer", 1749

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Wed Jun 7 01:11:04 UTC 2006


Can "fuck with" have a literal meaning of "have sex with"? I know of
only metaphorical ways to use  it, e.g.:

John fucked with Bill's head by fucking with the brother's shit.

-Wilson

On 6/6/06, Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Plough with the favorite heifer", 1749
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Incidentally, that metaphorical "plow" presents one of those
> verb +/- preposition cases.  Interpreted literally, the
> phrase "plow with a heifer" would be taken to mean 'hitch a
> heifer (rather than an ox) to the plow in order to plow a
> field'--in contrast with Shakespeare's "plowed HER."  But I
> suppose we can say (literally or figuratively) either "fuck
> (somebody)" or "fuck WITH (somebody)."
>
> Incidentally, those lines from Antony & Cleopatra present a
> beautiful allusion to Isaiah:  Regarding Cleopatra, "She
> made great Cæsar lay his sword to bed, /He ploughed her, and
> she cropt."  Beat swords into plowshares; make love, not war!
>
> --Charlie
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 12:53:57 -0400
> >From: Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> >Subject: Re: "Plough with the favorite heifer", 1749
> >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
> >
> >Judges 14:18.
> >
> >--Charlie
> >
> >
> >---- Original message ----
> >>Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 12:42:38 -0400
> >>From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> >>Subject: "Plough with the favorite heifer", 1749
> >>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >>
> >>"We are informed that a certain Foreign . . . who
> >>makes a very splendid Figure amongst us, has
> >>already lern'd to pursue the old English Maxim of
> >>ploughing with the favorite Heifer, which he
> >>thoroughly understands in the metaphorical Sense;
> >>and that a certain Naturaliz'd C-n-ss, in
> >>Conformity to this Maxim, was lately entertain'd
> >>by him with great Splendour and Expense."
> >>
> >>Northampton [England] Mercury, 23 October 1749
> >>(G. A. Cranfield, "The Development of the
> >>Provincial Newspaper, 1700-1760", page 70).
> >>
> >>What do you have, Fred?  With my limited
> >>sources:  not found Googling; from OED2, this
> >>sense of plough goes back to 1606,
> >>Shakespeare:  Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 233 Royall
> >>Wench: She made great Cæsar lay his sword to bed,
> >>He ploughed her, and she cropt.
> >>
> >>Joel
> >
>
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