plumed serpent
Ronald Butters
ronbutters at AOL.COM
Fri Dec 3 17:24:04 UTC 2010
I think Robin is totally right about this. As I said, "plumed serpent" is a metaphor for "uncircumcised penis," at least as some scholars interpret it with respect to Lawrence's novel. I imagine that one could have said that "pink taco" was merely metaphorical before it became slang (or maybe just at the moment that it was first used by whatever person first used the term colloquially). I doubt that many people would would seriously object to "Plumed Serpent" as the name for a gay bar--especially in this day and age.
On Dec 3, 2010, at 12:00 PM, Robin Hamilton wrote:
> Re "Plumed Serpent":
>
> <<
> From: Ronald Butters
>
> The terms I asked about are all relatively obscure metaphors for human
> genitalia ("plumed" refers to foreskin).
>>>
>
> "Tube steak" yes (though I'm not sure how obscure this is) and I'm prepared
> to take "Pink Taco" on trust, both confirmed by Urbandictionary, but
> "Plumed Serpent"?
>
> It doesn't occur in unrbandictionary, and while the majority of the early
> google hits are, as expected, to the title of D.H.Lawrence's novel (1926),
> there are enough others in a variety of contexts to suggest that the
> (possible) sexual reference is so obscure as not to figure as a possible
> ambiguity.
>
> I am prepared to be corrected on this, but the cursory search I've performed
> might indicate that Ron's analysis (above) of the phrase involves the
> application of folk etymology to a non-existent term.
>
> Robin
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