Q: "lake and stars", Victorian euphemism?

[Jonathan Lighter]

"An old Victorian euphemism for a woman's talent in
 bed"

What I said goes.  I prophesy that no one will find an ex. of
this presumably lexicalized euphemism in a Victorian source, including
anything quoted directly by Marcus.

And yes, I know that "stars" kind of rhymes with "arse" and that Farmer &
Henley define the word "star" (with no documentation whatsoever) as a
euphemism for the female pudenda.

But "lake and stars"?  Gimme a break.  Better yet, gimme a cite.

JL

On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 4:41 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Q: "lake and stars", Victorian euphemism?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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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