"prostitude" = gigolo

[Laurence Horn]

At 2:18 PM -0400 3/28/10, Wilson Gray wrote:
>According to an episode of one of the versions of Law and Order, the
>term described by definition (2) is _walker_. In New York City, at
>least.
>
>-Wilson

So we've been misinterpreting all those remarks about how grandma
just got herself a new walker...

LH

>
>On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 1:49 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>>  Subject:      Re: "prostitude" = gigolo
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  At 1:04 PM -0400 3/28/10, ronbutters wrote:
>>>Not necessarily.
>>>
>  >>(1) If the man is "financially supported" by the older woman, then
>>>he is not a prostitute, which is one who directly offers sexual
>>>services for pay, quid pro quo.
>>>(2) If the man is paid to "be her escort" without sexual services,
>  >>then he is certainly not a prostitute.
>>>(3) Male prostitutes service clients of both sexes; GIGOLOS (or so
>>>the dictionary says; see NOAD below) service only female clients.
>>
>>  It was observation (3) I had in mind in the parenthetical in my
>>  comment below--somehow the male-client-servicing variety of male
>>  prostitutes don't strike me as being aptly described as
>>  "prostidudes".  But it's true I didn't have observations (1) and (2)
>>  into account, since I was assimilating the escort variety of gigolos
>>  to the escort-with-happy-ending variety.  I certainly wasn't
>>  reckoning on professional male dancing partners counting as gigolos.
>>
>>  LH
>>
>>>
>>>All of these points agree with my intuitions as well as being
>>>supported by the dictionary definition. I have never heard the term
>>>GIGOLO applied to young men who are supported by sugar daddies,
>>>though I suppose someone might do it as a mild sort of metaphor,
>>>especially since no alternative comes to my mind: HUSTLER has more
>>>of the sense of 'prostitute'; ESCORT is often a euphemism for
>>>'prostitute'; YOUNGER LOVER seems somewhat dated (and does not
>>>necessarily convey the sense of financial dependance).
>>>
>>>
>>>gig*o*lo |ejig/flP|  n. (pl. -os) often derogatory a young
>>>man paid or financially supported by an older woman
>>>to be her escort or lover.
>>>    a professional male dancing partner or escort.
>>>-ORIGIN 1920s (in the sense 'dancing partner'): from
>>>French, formed as the masculine of gigole 'dance hall
>>>woman,' from colloquial gigue 'leg.'
>>>gig*ot |ejig/t|  n. a leg of mutton or
>>>
>>>
>>>On Mar 28, 2010, at 12:04:20 PM, "Laurence Horn"
>>><laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>>At 3:51 PM +0000 3/28/10, ronbutters at aol.com wrote:
>>>>Yeah but a gig(g)olo is not quite a male prostitute?
>>>>
>>>
>>>Hmmm...Not all male prostitutes are gigolos, but aren't all gigolos
>>>male prostitutes? (And "prostidudes" might single out the relevant
>>>ones, like our Mr. Markus.)
>>>
>>>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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