I’ve never liked the word comedienne. I don’t know exactly why, but it bugs me. There’s something about the faux Frenchiness of it. It might be condescendingly sexist, or it might be tediously feminist, and either way it rankles. So I was immensely pleased when I happened across the word …
It is, perhaps, appropriate that the English word lecher comes from the French for licker, although it may rather cramp the thoroughgoing lecher’s style. The French for lick is still lecher, which is why the French for window shopping is faire du lèche-vitrine, which literally means to go window licking. …
Sometimes, the original meaning of a word is so bloody obvious that you can’t believe that you don’t use it that way any more. Such a word is handsome, which apparently is as it does – a phrase I have never understood. When you realise that handsome used to be …
In Dell Richards excellent Lesbian Lists (1990), he trawled through old medical journals for ways to spot a lesbian. This was the advice given by the doctors of the day. 1800s. In the “Gay 90s”, that is, the 1890s, a sure sign of a lesbian was a woman who smoked …
For tens of thousands of years, the only contraceptive method was coitus interruptus, the biblical sin of Onan, in which the man withdraws to ejaculate outside the woman’s body. Every culture sought its own foolproof method to prevent conception. In ancient China, women were advised to swallow quicksilver (mercury) heated …
It has been very stormy here for the last day or so, and as a result the pack of cards has come out to while away the evenings. Whilst playing, the thought struck me on the odd words and names describing various cards. devil’s bed-post (c.1835) the four of clubs, …
As England became more prosperous in the 16th century there was a renewed focus on etiquette and manners. As befitting the influence of the renaissance this was also a time which saw a renewed interest in ‘household ordinances and serving manuals’- namely a series of Anglo-Latin courtesy poems which gave …
How about my new book – A Splendidly Smutty Dictionary of Sex ! Available now on https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L88JT46 Did you know:: That women never wore knickers until the late 18th century? That Cleopatra reputedly invented the first vibrator? The rather odd history of the condom? What it means to give someone a …
According to legal statute an idiot is an individual with an IQ of less than 20, an imbecile between 21 and 49 and a moron between 50 and 70. As you cast around for insults it may be worth remembering these categories. But then again, the English language has never …
There is a magnificent book called Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue which appeared sometime in 1811. Within it are some of the most fabulous words you will ever come across. One of them is Dark Cully – which according to Mr Grose is a married man who keeps a mistress, …
