"fuck like a mink" [Was: "mink" (n.) = 'a black, a Negro'?]

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Sun May 10 16:03:42 UTC 2009


Mink are known for ferocious and frequent fucking, so an association
with race is unnecessary, and I would bet not involved in the etymology.

At 5/10/2009 11:14 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>At 7:40 AM -0700 5/10/09, Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>>On May 9, 2009, at 8:46 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>In addition to dark-brown complexion, also "fuck like a mink", WRT the
>>>stereotype of black (hyper)sexuality?
>>
>>in my experience, "fuck like a mink" is used of women and of couples,
>>regardless of race.
>>
>>arnold

Cassel's (Jonathon Green, 2005) has [1910s+] "of a *woman*, to
copulate enthusiastically".  [emphasis added.]  As do similarly
Partridge and Beale, Wilkinson (Thesaurus of Traditional English
Metaphors), Chapman and Wentworth.  But Fergusson and Partridge
(Shorter Slang Dictionary) say "(esp. of a woman)".  (These all come
up with Google Books.)

Joel

>I've usually heard it used for women.  (One g-hit for "he fucks like
>a mink", another for "I just called to say your brother fucks like a
>mink", but the disproportion is clear.)
>
>Curiously, though, it's on its way to being outpolled by what I take
>to be an eggcorn, although (as often) a plausible one:
>
>"fucks like a mink": 2500
>"fucks like a minx":   729
>
>"fuck like a mink": 105
>"fuck like a minx": 236
>
>LH
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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