[Ads-l] sporting man was Re: "shot" = 'hypodermic injection' (1889)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Without context, a  "sporting woman" predominantly meant prostitute. A
"sporting man," without context, covered various options, often unsavory,
from sportsman to gambler to pimp.

Both were euphemisms, "sporting" implying "playing" in some sense.

JL

On Thu, Feb 18, 2021 at 8:51 AM Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

> On 2/18/21 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> > Date:    Wed, 17 Feb 2021 17:03:26 -0800
> > From:    James Eric Lawson<jel at NVENTURE.COM>
> > Subject: Re: "shot" = 'hypodermic injection' (1889)
> >
> > Eureka (Nevada) weekly sentinel, June 16, 1888, Image 2, col 5:
> >
> > N. T. Richmond, a well-known
> > sporting man throughout the mining
> > camps of Eastern Nevada, met his
> > death in Tuscarora early this morning,
> > through a “shot” of morphine,
> > administered by an acquaintance for
> > the purpose of inducing sleep.
>
>
> Given the mention of "sporting woman" in a previous discussion on this
> list, or at least an instance of it in a historical cite, does "sporting
> man" have the same denotation as "sporting woman"?
>
> ---Amy West
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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