"taint", anatomical

Lisa Galvin lisagal23 at HOTMAIL.COM
Wed Apr 11 18:22:48 UTC 2012


I remember hearing the term for the first time on Bob Odenkirk and David Cross's HBO sketch comedy show, "Mr. Show", which aired for three seasons from 1995-1998. The skit was a satire of the movie "The People vs. Larry Flint", and was called "Taint Misbehavin'".  
                                                  
Lisa GalvinSeattle

> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:10:52 -0400
> From: thnidu at GMAIL.COM
> Subject: "taint", anatomical
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      "taint", anatomical
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> From a friend's blog, part of a dream. I will give the link if the blog
> owner permits it.
> 
> I looked across the street and saw two women (African-American, as I
> > recall) being harassed by a white man who wasn't larger than them, but who
> > was being nasty and abusive. They cringed and tried to ignore him, but he
> > got more and more obnoxious. My blood boiled with anger on their behalf.
> >
> > Suddenly, I found myself yelling, "KICK HIM IN THE TAINT!" There was
> > shocked silence for a moment, but then all the women around me started
> > yelling it, too. Our corner was swiftly filled with women chanting, "KICK
> > HIM IN THE TAINT! KICK HIM IN THE TAINT! KICK HIM IN THE TAINT!" at the top
> > of our lungs. Thus encouraged, the women across the street began kicking
> > this shit out of this guy, who richly deserved it.
> >
> 
> My comment:
> 
> Does "taint" mean what I think it does? Is this usage common?
> >
> 
> Some pertinent replies:
> 
>    - "Taint" is the space between the balls & the asshole. T'aint balls,
>    t'aint asshole.
>    And yes, it's pretty common.
>    - I still remember the first time I encountered the term. A woman I was
>    dating mentioned it as part of an overall rant about her ex's hygiene. It
>    was a very colorful, creative and somewhat nauseating monologue.
>    - is *that* where the word came from? I had no idea. Also never heard it
>    used to mean this until about a year ago.
> 
> Mark Mandel
> 
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