Kotlovan: such'ya zazhimka

[Ernest Sjogren]

> Dictionaries notwithstanding, have you ever heard anyone actually use "member" that way? Can you find anyone outside of the lexicography field who is familiar with that sense?

Emphatically, Yes.  A generation or 2 ago this was one of the euphemisms used when the _membrum virile_ had to be referred to in public--in mixed company or with younger children present.  Part of a "proper upbringing" consisted in knowing such terms and knowing when they were to be used.  My children (in their late 20's) know this meaning/use of the word, and I have heard co-workers of mine, also in their late 20's and early 30's, use it w/ this meaning, when appropriate.  Definitely still a familiar usage to many in the U.S., although perhaps not in your section of PA.

And the corresponding usage in Russian is pervasive, as a web search will easily demonstrate.

Ernie Sjogren

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