Kotlovan: such'ya zazhimka

[Paul B. Gallagher]

William Ryan wrote:

> Certainly 'member' in this sense is in use outside the field of 
> lexicography - it is an ancient source of double entendre for British 
> comedians, often in the context of  'Members of Parliament'. The Russian 
> equivalent double entendre often involves the Academy of Sciences (e.g. 
> Why are flocks of sheep counted 'po golovam', but the Academy of 
> Sciences 'po chlenam').

Well, from all the responses, both public and private, it seems that in 
certain circles "member" is still a valid euphemism for "penis."

For my money, it's about 17th on the list of terms I would ever use -- 
much lower than on the Russian list, where it's at or near the top. I 
can't imagine using it as a term of abuse ("you member!" "he's a real 
member," etc. the way other terms such as "dick" are used), and jokes 
about "members" of Parliament or Congress would baffle me until someone 
"drew me a picture." I will admit that given sufficiently blatant 
contextual clues, I will eventually get it. But I still think it's 
pretty obscure.

YMMV.

P.S. Regarding "по головам," we do have an expression in English that a 
man is "letting his 'little head' do his thinking for him," but I know 
of no other link between "head" and "penis."

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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