when "intercourse" got funny

[Joel S. Berson]

Arnold wrote:
>the movement of sexual terms from scholarly/medical/legal use to
>general polite use seems to have been widespread in the late 19th/
>early 20th century: "masturbation", "penis", "testicles", "vagina",
>and a number of others seemed to have made the move. is this a sign
>of a greater willingness to talk about sexual topics in polite company?

Or a greater willingness to make dirty jokes.

BTW, I find hearing "congress" occasionally leading me astray into
thinking about it's sexual associations, and contemplating puns.

Joel

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