[Ads-l] Quip: Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy

[Baker, John]

I was confused by the quip, since I had heard that necking was so-called because it refers to amorous activities above the neck, which seemed consistent with how I had heard the term used.  But it turns out that this is incorrect, and also that the term is older than I had supposed.  The OED says of neck, v.:  "Originally:  to clasp or hug a person round the neck; (hence) to fondle someone, to caress and kiss amorously."  The OED dates it back to 1825.


John Baker



From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Bill Mullins
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2022 10:36 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Quip: Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy

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Similarly inspired:

Asbury Park [NJ] Evening Press 07 June 1935: p. 8.

"The burglar who stuck his revolver in the pit of his victim's stomach and told him to hold up his hands or he would blow out his brains is a poor student of anatomy. - GRAND ISLAND (Neb.) INDEPENDENT."

----

The joke in the subject line is listed in "The Macmillan Dictionary of
Quotations" (1989), "The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous
Quotations" and "The Yale Book of Quotations" (YBQ). These references
and others credit Groucho Marx.

The earliest citation in the YBQ is dated 1977. The statement
apparently has been omitted in "The New Yale Book of Quotations".

Here is a 1968 citation.

[ref] 1968, 20,000 Quips and Quotes by Evan Esar, Subject: Petting,
Quote Page 593, Doubleday, Garden City, New York. (Verified on paper)
[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.
-Groucho Marx
[End excerpt]

Here is a link to the new Quote Investigator article.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2022/07/28/necking/<https://quoteinvestigator.com/2022/07/28/necking>

Feedback welcome,
Garson


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