1947 citing in Archie Comic of "butthole." What did it mean?

[Joel S. Berson]

At 5/9/2012 11:37 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:

>On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 7:40 AM, Jonathan Lighter
><wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > _butt_ 'buttocks'
>
>But, it takes a *matched pair* of buttocks to make a single "butt." right?

Au contraire, according to the OED -- butt n3. (sing., therefore)
sense 3. = "A buttock."!!  (And buttock n. is "One of the two
protuberances of the rump (of men and beasts).")  A pair of buttocks
is two butts.  Butt probably not worth two betts -- beatts only an
unmatched pair.

Joel


>BTW, has _buttock_ or _buttocks_ ever been regarded as, well, "not
>fresh, down there," by those who decide these matters?
>
>--
>-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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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org