"taint", anatomical

[Charles C Doyle]

I remember the first time I heard the term, probably in the early 1960s.  It was indeed "jokey"--in the punch line of a riddle-joke:  "What do you call the place between the pussy and the asshole? /  You call it the taint:  It ain't one and it ain't the other."

I suppose I've always assumed that the term did, as Alice puts it, "escape to the wild" from the joke.

--Charlie

________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Alice Faber [faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 9:50 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

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It sounds almost like a jokey nonce-coinage that escaped to the wild.

On 4/11/12 9:48 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> I don't know of any evidence for a different etymology, but - as we all
> know - so what? While this one is plausible, it sounds almost too ingenious.
>
> Of course, there can always be that implausible flash of inspiration.
>
> JL
>
> On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 2:53 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: "taint", anatomical
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> I know that the T-containing HDAS volume isn't out, and that the
>> application of the term is indeed unisex (like a bottom, we've all got
>> 'em), but it has occurred to me to wonder whether the standardly assumed
>> etymology is correct ("'taint the one, 'taint t'other", more or less), and
>> if so whether that might imply a deliberate coinage.  Unlike "scofflaw",
>> it's seems unlikely that "taint" was the winner of a lexical competition
>> ("Name That Body-part").  Is it just that "taint" is both intentionally
>> homonymic and easier to pronounce than, say, "twixt" and less
>> Latin-sounding (and less likely to be in the OED) than "perineum" (= 'The
>> part of the body between the anus and the scrotum or vulva, either at the
>> surface of the skin or including the internal tissue immediately below
>> this')?
>>
>> LH
>>
>> On Apr 11, 2012, at 2:27 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>
>>> It can apply to either sex. Most HDAS exx. are feminine.
>>>
>>> JL
>>>
>>> On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 2:26 PM, Jonathan Lighter<
>> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> The HDAS files have this from California, 1970.
>>>>
>>>> JL
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Mark Mandel<thnidu at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ---------------------- 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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