Q: "lake and stars", Victorian euphemism?

[Wilson Gray]

Remember the old rock song, "Cut The Cake," by the Average White Band?
They're Scottish and not English. This doesn't preclude a knowledge of
cockney slang, though it makes it unlikely. Nevertheless, by sheerest
coincidence, no doubt, "cake" rhymes with "lake." Was there ever a
doubt in anyone's mind as to the meaning of "cut the cake"? Eddie
Kendricks, formerly of the Temptations, after he went solo, in an
interview published in The Boston Phoenix discussing his recording,
"Keep On Truckin," spoke to the effect that, "If you want a song to
sell, make it about fucking."

As a song by Jo Stafford, popular in the 'Fiifties, straightforwardly put it:

"Make Love to Me!"

-Wilson

On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 2:45 PM, Laurence Horn<laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
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> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: Q: "lake and stars", Victorian euphemism?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 2:26 PM -0400 6/23/09, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>>A friend has asked me about the origins of "Lake and Stars, which
>>references an old Victorian euphemism for a woman's talent in
>>bed". Â Very close to my friend's words (except for the
>>capitalization), but these are quoted from "Kenya's Style", on a line
>>of lingerie.
>>http://www.kenyasstyle.com/blogs/kenyasstyle/2009/06/todays-pick-the-lake-and-stars.html
>>
>>Google Web seems swamped with pages where the context is underwear.
>>
> Could this be Cockney rhyming slang? Â If so, for what?
>
> LH
>
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--
-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Mark Twain

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