Early Example of "Make Love" Meaning "Have Sex"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Much better.

One suspects that the euphemism (perhaps only in speech) is quite old,
since "love" in the relevant sense goes back centuries.

Before the 1920s, I doubt that so "degraded" a euphemism would have been
found outside of court transcripts.

JL


On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 7:24 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Early Example of "Make Love" Meaning "Have Sex"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Another probable early example of "make love" meaning "have sex" is from
> _L=
> ady Chatterley=92s Lover_:
>
>     =91It seems to me you might leave the labels off sex. We=92re free to
> t=
> alk to anybody; so why shouldn=92t we be free to make love to any woman
> who=
>  inclines us that way?=92
>
>     =91There speaks the lascivious Celt,=92 said Clifford.
>
> Fred Shapiro=
>
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