Antedating of "Bangs"

David Bowie db.list at PMPKN.NET
Mon Mar 27 15:03:39 UTC 2006


From:    Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>

> But doesn't "bang" have the same sexual connotation in Yankspeak? I vaguely
> remember a frat drinking song from the '50's that went something like:

> I banged her once
> And I banged her twice
> And I banged her once too often
> Something something something something
> And now she's in her coffin

Yeah, but these are all verbs--and for me, if you exclude explosions and
drum-beating and such, nominal "bangs" primarily means hair, nominal
"bang" is primarily sexual, and verbal "bang(s)" is primarily sexual. In
fact, it's difficult to impossible for "bang" (whether verbal or
nominal) to mean hair for me.

I hadn't thought of the importance of the -s before now--does anyone
else have this distinction? Also, anyone on here with British intuitions
who can tell us whether there's a bang/bangs distinction for nouns?

<snip>

--
David Bowie                                         http://pmpkn.net/lx
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.

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