OutIL More on JUNK 'private parts'

[Grant Barrett]

Ron, I think Ken's on to something. There are three uses in two of
Mordden's books, but none of them are unequivocal:

1986 _Ethan Mordden Buddies_ p. 90 (June 15, 1987): One of you come
outside with me and settle it like a man or shut your mouths and mind
your business. Because one more word out of any of you and I’ll pick
you…and drag you outside and kick your junk in.

1986 Ethan Mordden _Buddies_ p. 135 (June 15, 1987): Gigantic
shoulders, like he’s been carrying stuff all his life. Arms, too,
big. Chest. Not cut up. Fleshy.…Stomach just starting to loosen up.
Squared off ass, big junk.

1988 Ethan Mordden _Everybody Loves You_ (Sept.) p. 220 @ (Aug. 15,
1989): The poignantly restitutive sight of a talismanic hunk with
heebie-jeebie tits and junk of death tersely encountering elegiacal
youth of bracing attributes?

Grant Barrett
gbarrett at worldnewyork.org
http://www.doubletongued.org/


On May 26, 2006, at 09:54, RonButters at AOL.COM wrote:

> Last night in a conversation, Danny (WM, professional, c 25yo,
> gay): "His
> tights were so short that you could see all of his junk--it was
> pushed right out
> there" (paraphrase of sentence, but JUNK obviously referred to
> 'penis+testicles'.
>
> Does anyone else use this term in this way?
>
> In a message dated 4/29/06 10:04:19 PM, RonButters at aol.com writes:
>>
>> In a message dated 4/29/06 11:19:16 AM, kenny at UDel.Edu writes:
>>
>> I'd have to look up the reference (which I can't do right now since
>> I'm in the midst of reorganizing my library and my books are in
>> chaotic disarray), but I remember Ethan Mordden using the term "junk"
>> in the relevant sense in at least one of his books.  That would place
>> the usage in the early 80s (when most of his books were written) or
>> earlier (the story I'm thinking of was a reminiscence about the 70s)
>> in New York City.
>>
>> Ken
>>
>>
>>
>> Sorry aol hadn't delivered this to my mailbox yet when I wrote my
>> previous
>> posting. It WAS Mordden's book I was thinking of: I've a Feeling
>> We're Not in
>> Kansas Anymore: Tales from Gay Manhattan. But I do think that
>> "junk" referred
>> to the butt, not the penis. And that Mordden SAID he made it up.
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org