groin

[Charles Doyle]

In the sports section of yesterday's newspaper, an Atlanta Braves outfielder was said to be suffering from an injury to his "left groin." The phrasing immediately moved me to wonder, "How many does his have?" I certainly would have said the "left side of his groin."

Evidently, however (judging from the OED attestations of the noun), in the 16th century and earlier one could have multiple groins . . . .

--Charlie

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