muddy

en-adj

muddy (comparative muddier, superlative muddiest)

muddier (comparative)
muddiest (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English muddi, moddy, muddy (“covered with or full of mud, muddy”), from mud, mudde (“mud; turbid water”) + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Mud, mudde is possibly borrowed from Middle Dutch modde, and/or Middle Low German modde, mudde, from Proto-Germanic *mud-, *mudra- (“mud”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *mū-, *mew- (“moist”). The English word is analysable as mud + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Doublet of muddle.
The verb is derived from the adjective.
cognates
* Middle Low German moddich, muddich (German Low German muddig (“muddy; mouldy”))


roll in the hay

en-noun

roll in the hay (plural rolls in the hay)

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In the case of the euphemism, US origin, 1945.

Don't disturb them. They're having a roll in the hay, I think.

The early aubades and tagelieder in particular are just full of noble knights who nonetheless are a rather randy lot and never pass up the chance for a good roll in the hay with an unhappily married noblewoman.

2009, Glenn Yeffeth, editor, James Bond in the 21st Century, BenBella Books, Inc., →ISBN:

“Amen to that. Our girl needs another employee, a car, and a roll in the hay. And not necessarily in that order.”

2013, Ellery Adams, Peach Pies and Alibis, Penguin, →ISBN, page 9:

(euphemistic) A session of sexual intercourse.


birth canal

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(anatomy, sometimes euphemistic) The combined vagina and cervix, when the cervix dilates during birth to form a continuous tube with the vagina.


economical with the truth

Believed to be from a quotation by the British-Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke (1729–1797): “Falsehood and delusion are allowed in no case whatever: But, as in the exercise of all the virtues, there is an œconomy of truth. It is a sort of temperance, by which a man speaks truth with measure that he may speak it the longer.”

I would be being economical with the truth if I were to tell you that I was enjoying myself.

A senior British civil servant, arguing that the book ‘Spycatcher’ should not be published, let slip how ‘being economical with the truth’ is an option in matters of government policy. The phrase became a headline in Australia, highlighting, as much as anything, British duplicity. In fact, it originated with Edmund Burke, the eighteenth century statesman and constitutional theorist. […] In effect, the idea of ‘being economical with the truth’ underlines the challenge any manager or public servant faces – that unguarded, inappropriate, or even appropriate comment can lead to damaging and undesirable reactions.

1987, Andrew Kakabadse, Ron Ludlow, Susan Vinnicombe, Working in Organisations, Aldershot, Hants: Gower, →ISBN:

So, I am now asking you, was he economical with the truth? Bearing in mind you are now telling us that there were heaps of telephone conversations, things that you described elsewhere as “lovely” conversations, “nice” conversations, “interesting” conversations and that when politicians ring you, you take notice.

2013 November 6, House of Commons Treasury Committee (UK), Project Verde (HC 728-II (incorporating HC 300, Session 2013–14)), volume II, London: The Stationery Office Ltd., published 23 October 2014, →ISBN, page Ev 85:

There was one overriding technique used by both sides to dupe the public, and it was the deliberate omission of key information about any demoralising incident, operation or battle, such as facts about their own or even the enemy's losses. […] This approach can probably be best described as ‘being economical with the truth’ – a phrase whose literal meaning has rather been lost over the years, as it has rather erroneously come to signify telling outright lies.

2016, Ian Garden, Battling with the Truth: The Contrast in the Media Reporting of World War II, [Stroud, Gloucestershire]: The History Press, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Not telling the whole truth, especially in order to present a false image of a situation; untruthful; lying. Often used with sarcasm or satire.


ethnic cleansing

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-ethnic cleansing.wav

Possibly a calque of Serbo-Croatian etničko čišćenje, though this is probably attested later. Popularized by (and still often associated with) the wars in former Yugoslavia during the 1990s; however, versions of the phrase have been attested since the 1860s in various languages (with the earliest attestation translating directly to the phrase being Romanian purificare etnică from 1941) and it probably arose independently on numerous occasions.

clq

These television stations are part of the apparatus and power of Milosevic. This is the apparatus he has used to do the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

1999 April 24, Martin Kettle, Alex Brummer, quoting Tony Blair, “The bombing goes on”, in The Guardian:

(euphemistic) The mass expulsion or killing of people belonging to one ethnic group by those of another.


caboose

cabooses (plural)
camboose (alternative)
cambouse (alternative)

From French cambuse, from Middle Dutch kabuys, kabuis (Modern Dutch kombuis (“galley; kitchen”)). Cognate with Swedish kabyss.

That's a pretty big caboose for a baby.

2001 March 11, John Frink and Don Payne, Bye, Bye, Nerdie (The Simpsons), spoken by Homer Simpson:

(slang, childish, euphemistic) The buttocks.


wardrobe malfunction

en-noun

wardrobe malfunction (plural wardrobe malfunctions)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wardrobe malfunction.wav

An Americanism, coined by singer Justin Timberlake in 2004 to describe the incident during Super Bowl XXXVIII in which singer Janet Jackson's right breast was bared.

coinage

Monaco, a 23-year-old Argentinian seeded No. 23, survived the most unlikely wardrobe malfunction to save a match point and win a third-set tiebreaker, 8-6.

2007 September 4, Kathleen McElroy, “But Wait! Djokovic Is Still Playing”, in New York Times Straight Sets, retrieved 2021-04-17:

(euphemistic) An accidental counterpart of indecent exposure caused by a fault in someone's clothing (especially that of a performer) or by an error made while changing clothes.

Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy

不小心走光

euphemism: an accidental instance of indecent exposure


lady abbess

That Lady Abbess of all secret sin. / Swears that she is so lean and ugly grown, / She will not pass with her for half a crown, / Yet Stamford's countess does admire her wit, / But likes it most because 'tis lewdly writ.

ca 1670–80, ?, Description of a Poetress

The Lady Abbess took leave of her young Probationer, to dispatch some affairs of her own elsewhere; having promised to return next morning about the same Hour she had done that day.

1683, Ferrante Pallavicino, The Whores Rhetorick, pages 128–129:

This is our College, Madam; and these are the Students: Or rather, Madam, this is a Nunnery, and I am Lady Abbess.

And whenever any She-member could convert a Proselite, and bring her over from a vertuous Life to be willing to embrace that earthly Tabernacle, Man, for such excellent Service done to the Church of Venus, she was to receive ten Shillings of the Mother of the Maids, provided the Conformist was under twenty Years of Age, had a tollerable Share of Beauty, and either was, or could confidently put herself into the Hands of the old Matron, as a Virgo intacta, and would submit herself to be dispos'd on by her as should me most agreeable to their united Interest; the Lady-Abbess of the Brothel Monastry never wanting among the Salacious Quality of her old Acquaintance; a Gouty Courtier, or some rich over-grown Officer, to be ready-money Chapmen for any of her Punchable Nuns, who had not, as yet, broken the brittle Vow of Female Chastity.

1756, ?, A compleat and humorous account of all the remarkable clubs and societies, seventh edition, page 270

(rare, obsolete, euphemistic) A bawd, the mistress of a brothel.


fug

en-verb

fug (third-person singular simple present fugs, present participle fugging, simple past and past participle fugged)

fugs (present singular third-person)
fugging (participle present)
fugged (participle past)
fugged (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-fug.wav

He knew he would never eat them; they were merely an added load in his pack. Aaah, fug this.

1948, Norman Mailer, Naked Dead, page 692:

Scornfully the driver answered, "Fug you muthafug, you ain't gon drive this muthafuggin cah."

1969, Seymour Blicker -, Blues Chased a Rabbit, page 62:

"Fug this place," Jeff said. "Let's go to the pier in case that jerk comes back with a gun."

2005, Joe Taylor, The World's Thinnest Fat Man: Stories, →ISBN, page 82:

Euphemistic form of fuck.
Used to express displeasure.

Zit my fault the rotary fugged up and the new one's buggered?

2007, Paul Mitchell, Dodging the Bull: Stories, →ISBN, page 51:

You mean like in Zola–because they were fugged up in their turn by their parents.

2010, Julian Barnes, Metroland, →ISBN, page 39:

Tell them every detail, so they can find an Apprentice again, because if they don't, they're fugged.”

2013, J. Michael Shell, The Apprentice Journals, →ISBN, page 7:

He did an imitation of Big Jerry in full-choke cantankerousness: “'You'll just fug it up.'

2013, Jonathan Miles, Want Not, →ISBN, page 33:

Euphemistic form of fuck.
To damage or destroy.

All went well until girls started writing things like, 'I want to win a date with Tuli because I want him to fug me.'

2014, Richie Unterberger, Urban Spacemen & Wayfaring Strangers, →ISBN:

Married, two children, doesn't let him fug her any more.

2016, Julian Barnes, Metroland, →ISBN, page 10:

Euphemistic form of fuck.
To copulate with.


fug

I don't know jes where the fug he think he is at.

1961, Robert Gover, One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding, page 21:

How the fug does a thug like you know about any preacher?

I mean, who the fug cares?

2013, Ian McDonald, Out on Blue Six, →ISBN:

(singular only, with the) Used as an intensifier.

Euphemistic form of fuck.
Used as an intensifier.

I didn't know what any of it meant and didn't give a fug either.

After a short pause, Jay proclaimed, “I don't give a fug what you wave in fronna me. I'm sticking to my story.”

Euphemistic form of fuck.
Something of little value.

Look at those fugs!

1942, Army and Navy Journal - Volume 80, Issues 1-26, page 345:

'You bein' there an' him bein' there an' you such a fug of a loser an' him such a fug of a winner . . .'

2012, Elizabeth George, The Edge of Nowhere, →ISBN:

Euphemistic form of fuck.
A contemptible person.


bass-ackwards

en-adj

bass-ackwards (comparative more bass-ackwards, superlative most bass-ackwards)

more bass-ackwards (comparative)
most bass-ackwards (superlative)
bass-ackward (alternative)
bassackward (alternative)
bassackwards (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bass-ackwards.wav

Their whole approach is bass-ackwards.

(idiomatic, informal, euphemistic) Spoonerism of ass-backwards


bass-ackwards

What do you expect? They did the job bass-ackwards.

It’s certainly not helped by the bass-ackwards direction of team director Walter Godefroot. The man never met talent he couldn’t squander.

2005, Joe Lindsey, “What's with T-Mobile”, in Tour de France News:


loins

(biblical, euphemistic) The pubic region.

Neuertheleſſe, thou ſhalt not build the houſe, but thy ſonne that ſhall come foorth out of thy loynes, hee ſhall build the house vnto my Name.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 8:19, column 1:

The pubic region.
The reproductive organs.


Horlicks

en-noun

Horlicks (countable and uncountable, plural Horlicks)

Horlicks (plural)
horlicks (alternative)

Sir James Horlick, 1st Baronet
William Horlick

The name of the drink, first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", is derived from the surname of its developers, James (1844–1921) and William Horlick (1846–1936); equivalent to Horlick + -'s (possessive marker). The term later became a euphemism for bollocks (“mess; to make a mess of”).

McDonald & Dodds is back, with episode one so deliberately hammy and meta that, technically, it should have been a complete horlicks. In one scene, when they were all hanging on to the balloon ropes, Mr Bean-like, to stop Jason Watkins flying away, it sort of was.

2021 March 1, Carol Midgley, “McDonald & Dodds review – cheerful escapism and filth-free distraction”, in The Times:

(chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) Bollocks, a mess or balls-up.

As sleep patterns come unstuck and more and more people complain of not getting enough shuteye, so businesses have spotted an opportunity. […] And beware any consumer product which claims it will transform your slumber: it’s probably a load of Horlicks.

2018 October 8, Hannah Devlin, “Sleep: how much do we really need?”, in The Guardian:

“I don’t condone any abuses of human rights anywhere. But if we’re not condoning human rights abuses anywhere, I wouldn’t even be able to perform in my kitchen.” Which is total Horlicks, clearly, but did at least bless us with this cheering reply: “Robbie, what are you doing in your kitchen?”

2022 December 23, Archie Bland, “Friday briefing: The Crown discourse, Elon Musk tweets and 15 more things to leave behind in 2022”, in The Guardian:

(chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) Bollocks, nonsense, false statements.


Horlicks

en-verb

Horlicks (third-person singular simple present Horlickses, present participle Horlicksing, simple past and past participle Horlicksed)

Horlickses (present singular third-person)
Horlicksing (participle present)
Horlicksed (participle past)
Horlicksed (past)
horlicks (alternative)

I have seen a priest massacred in charge of a Mass, experienced schoolmasters carbonated in charge of a class and felt hairdressers Horlicksed in charge of hair clippers. / On a more lasting level, it is possible for surprisingly long periods of time to be drunk in charge of a relationship.

1993 September 25, Stuart Wolfendale, “Column Eight”, in South China Morning Post:

Mr O'Brien has admitted that he was tempted to pay £100,000 to Mr Lowry, out of his own personal generosity, because he had heard pub talk that Mr Lowry's Streamline Enterprises was "Horlicksed"[—]that's a word the Irish Independent has to use as an "intermediary" because the real word is too rude.

2001 June 28, Senan Molony, “Inquiry a training ground for linguistic acrobatics”, in Irish Independent:

One does wonder how the history books will treat Gordon if, as it now looks, he won't even still be PM by the time the next election comes along. / Indeed, if he hadn’t horlicksed the economy with nuclear abandon would they have even mentioned him at all?

2009 April 15, alland...@live.co.uk, “SKY News - Dead Man Walking”, in uk.media.tv.misc (Usenet):

Not the groundsman's fault Australia horlicksed it all up in the space of a couple of hours on Friday.

2009 August 23, Ben Dirs, “Strauss's England worthy winners”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2021-01-09:

Assuming the Citroen engineers haven’t really Horlicksed things up, which I suspect they haven’t, electric should be the neatest of fits for the comfy, untaxing C4.

2022 March 14, Sam Philip, “Citroen C4 PureTech 130 – long-term review”, in Top Gear:

(chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) To make a mess of (something); to bollocks.


six feet under

"Six feet" refers to the traditional depth to which graves are dug.

My grandparents are six feet under.

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Buried six feet underground; not alive; dead.


bejesus

bejaysus (alternative)
bejeebers (alternative)
bejeepers (alternative)
bejeebus (alternative)
bejeesus (alternative)
bejeezus (alternative)

The bear scared the bejesus out of us.

He said you confused the bejesus out of him.

This old lady just completely slapped the bejesus out of him.

That screaming, flaming skull in the closet totally scared the bejesus out of me!

But they give me clothes for my body, and food for my belly, and tonight, I'm so happy, I could beat the living bejesus outa this goddam drum.

1949, Richard Harrity, Hope is the Thing with Feathers, Dramatists Play Service, page 18:

Nixon: You see what I mean? We can’t take it.
Kissinger: I agree. That’s why we’ve got to blast—
Nixon: That’s right.
Kissinger: —the living bejeezus out of North Vietnam. We will gain nothing for restraint—.
Nixon: That’s right

1972, Henry Kissinger, Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Office of the Historian

Martial arts mean beating the bejesus out of people.

1995, Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age […] , New York: Bantam Spectra, →ISBN:

The dorsal fin is one of the animal kingdom’s masterstrokes of branding; it looks like a tooth, and we don’t need to see the rest of the shark to have the bejesus scared out of us.

2018, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “Jason Statham fighting a giant shark should be a lot more fun than The Meg”, in The A.V. Club:

(informal, euphemistic) Used for emphasis, similar to crap, shit or wits.


walk the dog

walk the dog (third-person singular simple present walks the dog, present participle walking the dog, simple past and past participle walked the dog)

walks the dog (present singular third-person)
walking the dog (participle present)
walked the dog (participle past)
walked the dog (past)


holy moley

holy moley ! (canonical)
holy moly (alternative)

Originally a euphemism for Holy Mary, Molly being a nickname for Mary. Compare holy Moses.

"Whew !" he whistled, softly; "that's curious. Same name as the lady at our place. Suppose he should be her husband. Holy moley, what a game. I've made a discovery.

1892, Nathaniel Gould, Running it off; or, Hard hit:

(idiomatic, dated, humorous or euphemistic) Synonym of wow, an expression of surprise.


girllover

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-girllover.wav

(euphemistic) A pedophile, hebephile, or ephebophile who is attracted to girls.


boylover

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-boylover.wav

(euphemistic) A pedophile, hebephile, or ephebophile who is attracted to boys.


childlover

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-childlover.wav

From child + lover, a calque of Ancient Greek παιδοφίλης (paidophílēs).

clq

(euphemistic) A pedophile, hebephile, or ephebophile who is attracted to children regardless of gender; an adult who is attracted to both boys and girls.


tearoom

From tea + room. In reference to a lavatory, probably as a variant of t-room (“toilet room”).

I'm deathly afraid of the tearooms though, John. Some of my best friends have been entrapped and busted by the fuzz.

1973, chapter II, in Deep Dick, page 21:

I had run into Grant in a tea-room—The busy main floor crapper—a few months earlier.

1975, chapter III, in Hard-Headed Dick, page 39:

The euphemistically named "tea room" has been used in sexual subcultures among men who have sex with men (MSM) to describe public sex environments, usually public toilets, where men meet other men in sexual interaction... The term itself might be outdated...

2014, A Cultural Encyclopedia of the Penis, page 216:

(euphemistic, slang) A public lavatory, especially (US, gay slang, dated) as a meeting place for gay men.


tuppence

en-noun

tuppence (countable and uncountable, plural tuppences)

By surface analysis, two + pence, collective plural of penny.
Same for the definition: "Ellipsis of tuppence worth (“one’s opinion”)" however, this idiom is derived from this fact; in Britain it used to cost two pence ("tuppence") to post a letter, usually holding one's opinion.

ellipsis of

"Fucksticks!" When some smart-arse bastard gives me my comeuppance / "Fucksticks!" When it’s ages since I’ve seen a lady’s tuppence

2011, Kunt and the Gang, Fucksticks (song)

The lady confided to the nurse helping her up off the examination couch, and told her “He put his hand up me funnel and made me tuppence bleed!”

2012, Richard Johns, Diagnosis of the Soul: The Long Road to the Beginning:

(UK, Ireland, slang, euphemistic, usually childish) The vulva or vagina.


BO

en-noun

BO (countable and uncountable, plural BOs)

(informal, euphemistic, uncountable) Initialism of body odor or body odour.


check out

en-verb

check out (third-person singular simple present checks out, present participle checking out, simple past and past participle checked out)

checks out (present singular third-person)
checking out (participle present)
checked out (participle past)
checked out (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-check out.wav

udskrive

to withdraw (an item) from a library etc., and have the withdrawal recorded

Steve: (referring to his girlfriend attempting suicide in front of both of them) Look, I was just an observer.
Bishop: You haven't answered my question.
Steve: Well, what do you think?
Bishop: We'll never know, will we?
Steve: Well, say I just sat there—or we just sat there—and watched her check out. Think that would have been crazy?

1972, The Mechanic (1972 film), Charles Bronson (as Mr. Bishop), Jan-Michael Vincent (as Steve)

With a bottle full of sleeping pills and a long list of sins
She'd already planned on checking out before she checked in

2012, Gwen Sebastian, Met Him In a Motel Room:

(intransitive, euphemistic, by extension) To die.


overdrive

en-noun

overdrive (countable and uncountable, plural overdrives)

From over- + drive, originally referring to gear ratios over 1:1.

/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈdɹaɪv/

/ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌdɹaɪv/

Of course overdrive is forbidden for dump trucks in the quarry because it is unsafe, but unscrupulous workers were found to be using it because of a perverse incentive involving tonnage piece rates.

(euphemistic, slang) Freewheeling (driving a vehicle with the transmission in neutral) on downhill stretches to achieve higher fuel economy and/or speed than otherwise. In colloquial registers, ethnically bigoted variants have been common, such as Jewish overdrive (alluding to the stereotype of miserly Jews) or Mexican overdrive or Polish overdrive (alluding to stereotypes of foolishness and poverty).


departed

... and our Theologians, in stead thereof vie to make sermons, both teaching the people some good learning, and also saying well of the departed.

1589, George Puttenham, edited by Edward Arber, The Arte of English Poesie, published 1869, page 63:

(euphemistic) Synonym of dead (“those who have died”).


geez

geeze (alternative)
jeez (alternative)
jeeze (alternative)

Geez, that was one heck of a week.

(euphemistic) An exclamation denoting surprise or frustration.


sweet spot

Then he knelt over her and began to make her wet with his fingers, finding her sweet spot the way he used to, so brilliantly, finding it, working it, moistening his finger from his lips and from herself, setting the fire raging in her now.

2008, Peter James, “2 November 2001 [chapter name]”, in Dead Man’s Footsteps, London: Macmillan, →ISBN; republished London: Pan Books, 2014, →ISBN, page 442:

Ragan began to move more slowly once he was in, but soon he was moving quickly, pounding his balls against Donovan's ass, unable to hold back, reaching his sweet spot over and over again until Donovan couldn't keep the screams from coming from his throat.

2012 September, Shannon West, chapter 4, in Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright (ManLove Collection), [s.l.]: Siren Publishing, →ISBN, page 74:

(slang, euphemistic) The clitoris, prostate gland, or other center of sexual pleasure.


spend a penny

en-verb

spend a penny (third-person singular simple present spends a penny, present participle spending a penny, simple past and past participle spent a penny)

spends a penny (present singular third-person)
spending a penny (participle present)
spent a penny (participle past)
spent a penny (past)

From the act of putting a (pre-decimal) penny in the slot of a pay-toilet cubicle.

I put on a lick of paint, slip over and spend a penny in Costing…I should technically use the one in Records but I've told them, that lavatory seat is a death trap.

1982, Alan Bennett, “A Woman of No Importance”, in The Complete Talking Heads, Picador, published 2010, →ISBN, page 14:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, dated, euphemistic) To use the toilet.


nerts

en-adj

nerts (comparative more nerts, superlative most nerts)

more nerts (comparative)
most nerts (superlative)

Alteration of nuts to avoid vulgar nuts (“testicles”)

"You'd be plumb nerts" says he, "to think of it."

1928, Joseph Patrick McEvoy, Grosset and Dunlap present Show girl, page 47:


nerts

FOUND HIM 'TERRIBLY NICE' She Wonders What He Thought When She Said, 'Oh, Nerts!' After a Bad Shot.

1933 August 19, “GIRL GOLFER TELLS OF BESTING PRINCE; Beatrice Gottlieb Returns With Trophies of Victory From British Heir”, in New York Times:

(slang, euphemistic) Nuts! Expression of dismay.


cup of coffee

Based on the idea that the player was only there long enough to have a cup of coffee.

(euphemistic) An invitation to have sex.


proverbial

From Latin prōverbiālis. Equivalent to proverb + -ial

I think we should be prepared in case the proverbial hits the fan.

Are you taking the proverbial?

(euphemistic) Used to replace a word that might be considered unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well-known phrase.

You'll find they've got you by the proverbials.

(euphemistic, in the plural) The groin or the testicles.


shmexy

shmexy (comparative shmexier, superlative shmexiest)

shmexier (comparative)
shmexiest (superlative)
schmexy (alternative)

Sexy, schmexy. My friend Flo is coming over and I will not have her see my daughter wearing ripped-up rags!!

1984, Cathy Guisewite, Men Should Come with Instruction Booklets: A Cathy Collection, →ISBN, page 52:

Sir Ben Marx. Singer, model, shmexy zombie.

2011, Jaymie Baxley, "Sir Ben Marx Q&A", Feed Magazine, November 2011 (image caption)

He sat down and smiled at me, a corner of his mouth higher than the other and one eyebrow raised. Wow, that was entirely too shmexy for this early in the morning.

2012, Kimberly Pauley, Cat Girl's Day Off, Tu Books, →ISBN:

Flabbergasted by his transformation back into shmexy 'Cab Braden' who couldn't take his eyes off of me, I didn't know what to make of it in all my confusion.

2012, Samantha Young, On Dublin Street, New American Library, →ISBN:


irregularity

en-noun

irregularity (countable and uncountable, plural irregularities)

/ɪˌɹɛ.ɡjʊˈlæ.ɹɪ.ti/

General American, Mary–marry–merry merger

/ɪˌɹɛ.ɡjəˈlɛɹ.ɪ.ti/

From Middle French irrégularité, from Medieval Latin irregularitas.
Morphologically irregular + -ity

Consuming copious amounts of vegetables, fruit, milk, and an abundance of water effectively treats irregularity. Establishing regular eating, bowel movement, and exercise habits are helpful too.

2000, James Dallas Jardine, Indu Vaid, Alternative Therapies, Health Harmony, →ISBN, page 246:

(euphemistic) Irregular bowel movement (e.g. diarrhea or constipation).


encounter

en-verb

encounter (third-person singular simple present encounters, present participle encountering, simple past and past participle encountered)

encounters (present singular third-person)
encountering (participle present)
encountered (participle past)
encountered (past)
encountre (alternative)
incountre (alternative)
incounter (alternative)

From Middle English encountren, from Anglo-Norman encountrer, Old French encontrer (“to confront”), from encontre (“against, counter to”), from Late Latin incontrā (“in front of”) itself from Latin in (“in”) + contrā (“against”).

Speaking to the media, Reddy said, "He (Accused in 6-year-old rape and murder case) should be encountered. We will nab the accused and will encounter him. We will stand by the victim's family. We console them and will provide aid to the family. We will encounter him (the accused)."

2021 September 15, “Telangana Minister says, rapist of six-year-old will be nabbed and killed in encounter”, in Catch News, retrieved 2023-02-25:

(transitive, euphemistic, India) To kill or execute someone extrajudicially.


sleep together

sleep together (third-person singular simple present sleeps together, present participle sleeping together, simple past and past participle slept together)

sleeps together (present singular third-person)
sleeping together (participle present)
slept together (participle past)
slept together (past)

(idiomatic, reciprocal, euphemistic) To have sex with each other.

(idiomatic, reciprocal, euphemistic) To be intimate with each other in the same bed.


white light

en-noun

white light (countable and uncountable, plural white lights)

near-death experience
near-death experience

(euphemistic, as the white light) The believed entrance to the afterlife, as occasionally reported of near-death experiences.


fricking

fricken (alternative)
frickin (alternative)
frickin' (alternative)
frigging (alternative)

Throw me a fricking bone here!

Geez, how many fricking questions are in this passage?

You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!

1997, Mike Myers, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, spoken by Dr. Evil (Mike Myers):

(colloquial, euphemistic) freaking; fucking.


fricking

What are you fricking looking at?

He was so fricking drunk, he passed out kneeling in front of the toilet.


dashed

en-adj

dashed (comparative more dashed, superlative most dashed)

more dashed (comparative)
most dashed (superlative)

It's a dashed shame that Tarquin failed all his A-levels — we were hoping to get him into Oxford.

I'll be dashed if I gan another step for less 'an oaf.

1824 May 15, “Kiddywinkle History, No. II”, in Blackwood's Magazine, page 540:

I'll be dashed if I squash in with any domestic staff.

1939, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 8, in Uncle Fred in the Springtime:

(British, dated, informal, euphemistic) Damned.


front bottom

Never before had she experienced the excitement that ebbed and flowed inside her. Her panties were soaking. In the past few months lovemaking with Angus had been a problem because she could not summon any fluid in her front bottom.

2009, David Silverman, Twinkle, page 107:

[…] and made her less interested in sex than usual, he supposed. That had never been a problem with Lalla. Nothing was a problem with Lalla—she could even fire ping-pong balls out of her front bottom, […]

2010, Wendy Holden, Farm Fatale: A Comedy of Country Manors, page 128:

(British, slang, euphemistic) The female genitalia; the vulva.


peptide

From peptone, partially hydrolyzed protein, or German Peptid, from German Pepton, from Ancient Greek πεπτόν (peptón, “cooked, digested”) derived from πέπτω (péptō, “soften, ripen, boil, cook, bake, digest”).

der

Please be patient with me, I get hundreds of emails a day in regards to anything fitness related including diet, recipes, eating schedules, work out routines, recommending what peptides to take for what and so on.

2024 June 3, Reddit, archived from the original on 2025-03-19:

It truly doesn’t, funny how so many people in this sub keep buying certain peptides for the placebo.

2025 March 19, Reddit, archived from the original on 2025-03-19:

(euphemistic, usually construed as plural) performance-enhancing drugs, often a synthetic peptide compound


get off at Haymarket

en-verb

get off at Haymarket (third-person singular simple present gets off at Haymarket, present participle getting off at Haymarket, simple past and past participle got off at Haymarket)

gets off at Haymarket (present singular third-person)
getting off at Haymarket (participle present)
got off at Haymarket (participle past)
got off at Haymarket (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-get off at Haymarket.wav

Edinburgh Waverley station
Haymarket railway station

Haymarket railway station is the last station shortly before arrival into Edinburgh Waverley station when travelling from Glasgow.

John looked at a woman standing further down the carriage in bridal headdress surrounded by her hen party acolytes.
‘She's got the wrong aisle. At least she chose Virgin Trains. All train guards can marry folk you know. But the vows are only valid for the duration of the journey. You can always get off at Haymarket, know what I mean?’
The women shrieked as the inflatable male doll her friends had stowed in the overhead luggage rack idly dangled a leg.

2014, Stuart Campbell, John McPake and the Sea Beggars:

The thought that Lizzie and her man knew about getting off at Haymarket and other ways of delaying pregnancy occurred to Peggy for the first time.

2014, Mary Easson, Black rigg, page 157:

[…]he tenderly whispered, 'Now, my sweet, don't you worry because I was careful and got off at Haymarket every time, so I did.' This remark meant nothing to Kate but to others in Leith who were acquainted with the facts of life it meant that Hugh had been careful not to go full steam ahead into Waverley and therefore put her in the family way.

'[…]Do you and Bill sleep in separate rooms now?'
Anna roared with laughter. 'No, darling! I just tell him to get off at Haymarket.'
It was not till many years later that Olivia worked out what she meant! She didn't dare to ask Anna there in the middle of the tea room.

2017, Mary Contini, Dear Alfonso: An Italian Feast of Love and Laughter:

(euphemistic, Scotland) To practise coitus interruptus, the withdrawal method of contraception.

stå af i Roskilde

to practise coitus interruptus, the withdrawal method of contraception


keep the wolf from the door

keep the wolf from the door (third-person singular simple present keeps the wolf from the door, present participle keeping the wolf from the door, simple past and past participle kept the wolf from the door)

keeps the wolf from the door (present singular third-person)
keeping the wolf from the door (participle present)
kept the wolf from the door (participle past)
kept the wolf from the door (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-keep the wolf from the door.wav

The original saying may have been keep the wolf from the gate, which dates from at least 1470. By the 1500s the saying had become keep the wolf from the door, with the current meaning that it bears: see, for example, the 1645 quotation.
There is a suggestion that the phrase may have originated from French or German phrases. Compare the French manger comme un loup (“eat like a wolf”), and the German Wolfsmagen (literally “wolf’s stomach”) means “a keen appetite”.

nb...

in Metre, from the First Begynnyng of Englande, vnto the Reigne of Edwarde the Fourth, where He Made an End of His Chronicle. And from that Tyme is Added with a Continuacion of the Storie in Prose to this Our Tyme. Now First Emprinted, Gathered out of Diuerse and Soundrie Autours, of Most Certain Knowelage and Substanciall Credit, that either in Latin, or els in Our Mother Toungue, haue Writen of the Affaires of Englande.

Containing an Account of Public Transactions from the Earliest Period of English History to the Beginning of the Reign of King Edward the Fourth. Together with the Continuation by Richard Grafton, to the Thirty Fourth Year of King Henry the Eighth. The Former Part Collated with Two Manuscripts of the Author’s Own Time; the Last, with Grafton’s Duplicate Edition. To which are Added a Biographical and Literary Preface, and an Index, by Henry Ellis.

cog

Do you mind if I talk? It helps me keep the wolf from the door, so to speak. Jill, what do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?

1997, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, “Alan Attraction”, in I'm Alan Partridge, spoken by Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan):

I find it useful to look at a picture of Mo Mowlam at the change hands point, it helps to ‘keep the wolf from the door’ so to speak.

2002 July 30, “the mekon”, “Wanking”, in uk.media.dvd (Usenet), message-ID <ai45tt$110mqu$2@ID-115312.news.dfncis.de>:

If you haven't got the self-control to keep the wolf from the door yourself, ask your partner to help out. She'll enjoy being the one in the driving seat for a change.

2014 December 1, “Carnal Calendar”, in Men's Health, South Africa, archived from the original on 2017-03-08:

(idiomatic, humorous, euphemistic) To delay sexual ejaculation.


fluff

en-noun

fluff (countable and uncountable, plural fluffs)

From earlier floow (“woolly substance, down, nap, lint”), also spelt flough, flue, and flew, from West Flemish vluwe,
of uncertain ultimate origin:
* Compare Old English flōh (“that which is flown off, fragment, piece”) - see flaw
* Possibly representing a blend of flue + puff; compare Middle Dutch vloe, or perhaps onomatopoeic; compare dialectal English floose, flooze, fleeze (“particles of wool or cotton; fluff; loose threads or fibres”), Danish fnug (“down, fluff”), Swedish fnugg (“speck, flake”).
* Alternatively, West Flemish vluwe may derive from French velu (“hairy, furry”), from Latin villūtus (“having shaggy hair”), from villus (“shaggy hair, tuft of hair”).
For words of similar sound and meaning in other languages, compare Japanese フワフワ (fuwafuwa, “lightly, softly”), Hungarian puha (“soft, fluffy”), Polish puchaty (“soft, fluffy”), Romanian puf (“down, peachfuzz, soft hair of some animals, powderpuff”).

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

cog

(Australia, New Zealand, Canada, euphemistic) A fart.


fluff

en-verb

fluff (third-person singular simple present fluffs, present participle fluffing, simple past and past participle fluffed)

fluffs (present singular third-person)
fluffing (participle present)
fluffed (participle past)
fluffed (past)

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

(intransitive, Australia, euphemistic) To break wind, to fart.


guarded

en-adj

guarded (comparative more guarded, superlative most guarded)

more guarded (comparative)
most guarded (superlative)

guarded prognosis

(medicine, often euphemistic) When the practitioner formulating the opinion does not have enough information to know, or to foretell, what the outcome may be.


Montezuma's revenge

/ˌmɔ.ɾ̃əˈzu.məz ɹəˈvɛndʒ/

Named for Montezuma or Moctezuma II (c. 1466 – 1520), the last Aztec ruler before the empire was conquered by the Spanish. The condition is seen as “retribution” for the slaughter and enslavement of the Aztec people by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés on August 13, 1521.

Montezuma's Revenge, everybody knows, is the persistent intestinal illness that spoils the good humour of tourists in the tropics. Could there be a Montezuma's Revenge of the soul? There could. We caught it.

1994, John-Claude Guillebaud, “Montezuma’s Revenge”, in John Simmons, transl., Return to Vietnam, London, New York, N.Y.: Verso Books, →ISBN, page 112:

There's a lot of flu bugs floating around. I think it is commendable that he thought enough of his fellow senators to keep his diseases to himself. I don't know what he had, but I suspect it was Montezuma's Revenge. (Mexico is the only country in the world where the expression "Royal Flush" has nothing to do with playing cards.)

1999, Jim Foster, “Picking on Senator Going Too Far”, in I Hate to Complain, but …: A Collection of Humorous Something-or-others, Toronto, Ont., Headington, Oxford, Tonawanda, N.Y.: Hounslow Press, Dundurn Press, →ISBN, page 19:

President Jimmy Carter arrived in Mexico City for a state visit on February 14, 1979, and proceeded to recall for his hosts a previous encounter with Mexican culture, decades earlier as a naval officer, in which he had contracted what he described as "Montezuma's revenge." This indelicate reference to tourist's diarrhea became something of an international incident; Mexican Preident José López Portillo insisted that his country be treated with respect, while the local press denounced the remark as a "typical Yankee slur."

2004, Jeffrey M. Pilcher, “From “Montezuma’s Revenge” to “Mexican Truffles”: Culinary Tourism across the Rio Grande”, in Lucy M. Long, editor, Culinary Tourism (Material Worlds), Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 76:

We warily sipped the lemonade, knowingly flirting with the tourist stomach disorder known here as Moctezuma's revenge.

2010, George Ann Huck, Jann E. Freed, Women of Yucatán: Thirty Who Dare to Change Their World, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 18:

When we were together in Mexico in the early seventies, she came down with a bad case of Moctezuma's revenge, complaining that she'd never been sick to her stomach before.

2014, M. I. Lastman, “Answers”, in Rocky Mountain Locust: Opus I, Trio: A Novel, Victoria, B.C.: FriesenPress, →ISBN, part 1 (Jim), page 32:

(humorous, euphemistic) Diarrhea experienced by tourists after drinking water or eating food in Mexico as a result of a microorganism to which native Mexicans are immune.

Hernán Cortés
Moctezuma II
Montezuma's revenge

Montezuman kosto

diarrhea experienced by a tourist in Mexico


blamed

“I left in a French steamer, and she called in every blamed port they have out there, for, as far as I could see, the sole purpose of landing soldiers and custom-house officers.”

1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 202:

"He's a bad man—a blamed bad man!" fluttered Danny Griswold.
"That's right," nodded Lewis Little. "He really wants to fight with swords, I believe."


naughty bit

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-naughty bit.wav

(informal, euphemistic, usually in the plural) Those parts of the body not normally shown in public, particularly the nipples of women and the genitals.


escort

Borrowed from French escorte, itself borrowed from Italian scorta.

Of the 68 women, 26 reported that they had worked on the streets and as an escort over the course of their career as a prostitute, 18 exclusively as a street prostitute, and 8 as an escort only (i.e., working for an escort service).

2014, Jeffrey T. Parsons, Contemporary Research on Sex Work, page 87:

Every escort has at least one or two regular clients; they are our bread and butter.

2017, Samantha X, Back on Top: Confessions of a High-Class Escort, Hachette, →ISBN:

(somewhat euphemistic) A sex worker who does not operate in a brothel, but with whom clients make appointments; a call girl or male equivalent; a pimp.


facts of life

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-facts of life.wav

“You and your books!” “How's a girl to learn the facts of life?”

1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 72:

(euphemistic) A knowledge of sexual reproduction, (almost always used with the).


pass on

en-verb

pass on (third-person singular simple present passes on, present participle passing on, simple past and past participle passed on)

passes on (present singular third-person)
passing on (participle present)
passed on (participle past)
passed on (past)

His uncle passed on last year.

A very fine woman, Martha’s mother. She passed on—let’s see—sixteen months ago, next June. No, fifteen months ago. […] She was a very fine old lady, and I was glad to do what I could.

1953, Jim Thompson, “Allen Talbert”, in The Criminal, Berkeley, Calif.: Black Lizard Books, published 1986, →ISBN, page 5:


follow through

follow through (third-person singular simple present follows through, present participle following through, simple past and past participle followed through)

follows through (present singular third-person)
following through (participle present)
followed through (participle past)
followed through (past)

It looked like he'd just farted and followed through.

LORNA WYNDE: You cried so hard, you followed through in Oddbins.

2014, Toast of London (TV series), "Fool in Love" (episode)

(intransitive, slang, euphemistic) To defecate unintentionally as a result of a cough or sneeze, etc.


see a man

see a man (third-person singular simple present sees a man, present participle seeing a man, simple past saw a man, past participle seen a man)

sees a man (present singular third-person)
seeing a man (participle present)
saw a man (past)
seen a man (participle past)

I'll be right back. I've just got to go to the ladies' room to see a man.

Although they were all out, at the bases, and the rest of our nine having gone to see a man there was nobody to take the bat.

1867 September 12, Ball Players' Chronicle, page 3:

(idiomatic, dated) Used in place of a real explanation when excusing oneself for a short period of time, particularly (euphemistic) to use the toilet or (historical) drink alcohol.


slip into something more comfortable

slip into something more comfortable (third-person singular simple present slips into something more comfortable, present participle slipping into something more comfortable, simple past and past participle slipped into something more comfortable)

slips into something more comfortable (present singular third-person)
slipped into something more comfortable (participle past)
slipped into something more comfortable (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-slip into something more comfortable.wav

Pointing to my bedroom, I said, “The bathroom's upstairs.” “Aw'ight, chill. You act like you got Tupac in there or something.” Jay laughed, then said, “I'll meet you upstairs. Why don't you slip into something a little more comfortable?"

2009, Carl Weber, Mary B. Morrison, She Ain't the One:

(euphemistic) To change into clothes that are suitable to be stripped off by a lover.


let go

let go (third-person singular simple present lets go, present participle letting go, simple past and past participle let go)

lets go (present singular third-person)
letting go (participle present)
let go (participle past)
let go (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-let go.wav

antaa mennä

euphemistic: to fail to maintain a standard of appearance, behavior, or performance

The secretary didn't work out, so her boss told her she was being let go.

Puel was let go in June despite leading Southampton to their first major final for 14 years and an eighth-place finish in the Premier League. But apparently his style was too boring and some players and many fans disliked his method, so he had to go – fair enough but look at them now.

2017 October 14, Paul Doyle, “Mauricio Pellegrino yet to find attacking solution for stuttering Southampton”, in the Guardian:

(euphemistic) To dismiss from employment.

(euphemistic, transitive) To fail to maintain a standard of appearance, behavior, or performance.

Wow, dude! You've really let yourself go this time!

(euphemistic, usually reflexively) To gain weight.


backside

backsides (plural)
back-side (alternative)
back side (alternative)

think the sun shines out of someone's backside

The building's backside faced an alley and was covered in grime and graffiti.

The back side of anything, the part opposite its front, particularly:

The back side of an estate: the backyard and outbuildings behind a main house, especially (UK dialect, euphemistic) an outhouse.

Having ridden the horse all day for the first time, I had painful blisters on my backside.

With an arrowe so broad, He shott him into the backe-syde.

c. 1500, Robin Hood, Bk. ii, Ch. iv, p. 236:

Our toilet was an outside netty shared between two or three families, where you sat on a hole and hoped the cat wouldn't jump at your backside.


thump

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-thump.wav

onomatopoeic

imitative

Where the thump have you been?!

(dated, colloquial, euphemistic) Used to replace the vulgar or blasphemous element in "what the hell" and similar phrases.


parts

(euphemistic) The genitals, short for private parts.


criminy

Either from Italian crimine (“crime”), or a minced oath from "Christ's money" (in reference to the silver that Judas was paid for betraying Jesus), or a deformation of Gemini (which was recorded as as an oath from the 1660s). First attested in the 1680s.

crimine (alternative)
crimini (alternative)
crimony (alternative)
by criminy (alternative)
crimany (alternative)
crimeny (alternative)
crimmini (alternative)
criminny (alternative)

(euphemistic) Expressing surprise or impatience.


bustard

From Middle English bustarde, from an Anglo-Norman blend of Old French bistarde and oustarde, both from Latin avis tarda (“slow bird”), which is a misnomer as bustards are fast runners.

That bustard tried to conquer the world!


shedload

shedloads (plural)
shed load (alternative)

From shed + load; possibly a minced form of shitload, given the sound similarity (front vowel, consonance, metre).

Shedloads of flights from Amsterdam in the air at this time of day, ditto Charles de Gaulle, Heathrow, Berlin, Gdansk, Tenerife, Sofia.

2019, Kate Atkinson, Big Sky, →ISBN, page 124:

(slang, idiomatic, euphemistic) A shitload; a large amount.


go all the way

en-verb

go all the way (third-person singular simple present goes all the way, present participle going all the way, simple past went all the way, past participle gone all the way)

goes all the way (present singular third-person)
going all the way (participle present)
went all the way (past)
gone all the way (participle past)

Let's go all the way, baby / Let's not wait / Let's go all the way, down, it's alright

1977, “Let’s Go All the Way (Down)”, in I Keep Coming Back for More, performed by Brenda & the Tabulations:

Actually, going all the way is like a really big decision. I can’t believe I was so caprecious^([sic]) about it. Dee, I almost had sex with him.

1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Cher (Alicia Silverstone):

(intransitive, idiomatic, colloquial, euphemistic) To have sexual intercourse.


something for the weekend

When they had finished your haircut and were moving towards the till, they would lean over, pull a display box from behind a row of hair potions on the shelf, finger the box which you then saw contained condoms – normally Durex in those days – and ask, “Something for the weekend, Sir?” – even if it was only Monday! The first few times this happened to me was around 1955 and after having just left school and started work, I was extremely naïve and hadn't a clue what the barber meant.

2009, David Fowler, National Service, Elvis and Me!, page 69:


jiggery-pokery

/ˌdʒɪɡ.ə.ɹiˈpəʊ.kə.ɹi/

Borrowed from Scots joukery-pawkery (“trickery; deceit”) Attested in English since the nineteenth century. The earliest known use was in the Berkshire Chronicle in 1845.

bor+

...the males, like most birds, have no penis. But that doesn't stop a bit of gay jiggery-pokery.

2002, Olivia Judson, Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation:


see the back of

en-verb

see the back of (third-person singular simple present sees the back of, present participle seeing the back of, simple past saw the back of, past participle seen the back of)

sees the back of (present singular third-person)
seeing the back of (participle present)
saw the back of (past)
seen the back of (participle past)

Jen: Yeah, I think I'll say yes. I think I have to. You guys'll probably be glad to see the back of me... Wow. You're just gonna let that hang there.

2007 September 28, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 2, Episode 6

Today we are glad to see the back of such horrors.

2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 278:

After his mother-in-law stayed for two weeks, he was glad to see the back of her.


trump

From Middle English trumpe, trompe (“trumpet”), from Old French trompe (“horn, trump, trumpet”), from Frankish *trumpa, *trumba (“trumpet”), from a common Germanic word of imitative origin. Doublet of tulumba and tromp.
Akin to Old High German trumpa, trumba (“horn, trumpet”), Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”). More at trumpet, drum.

onomatopoeic

imitative

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-trump.wav


trump

en-verb

trump (third-person singular simple present trumps, present participle trumping, simple past and past participle trumped)

trumps (present singular third-person)
trumping (participle present)
trumped (participle past)
trumped (past)

onomatopoeic

imitative

And without warning me, as he lay there, he suddenly trumped next to me in bed.

Who trumped?

(intransitive, UK, colloquial, euphemistic) To fart.


regarded

en-adj

regarded (comparative more regarded, superlative most regarded)

more regarded (comparative)
most regarded (superlative)

Originated on imageboard website 4chan. Popularized on Reddit beginning around 2022 in response to increasing censorship of the words retard and retarded.

/ɹɪˈɡɑː.dəd/

/ɹɪˈɡɑɹ.dəd/

Don't listen to them they're regarded

2019 June 22, u/MichaelT359, “One of the trainers at my gym has scared me from starting leg workouts. Is it too soon?”, in Reddit, r/Fitness:

Statists are very regarded

Can the mods step up and remove these garbage "pls gib MG2 discord :)" posts? Every other post to this subreddit is literally that, and it's getting kinda regarded.

2022 November 27, u/UniqueCod69, “Go find the MG2 Discord elsewhere.”, in Reddit, r/mapleservers:

45k as a certified electrician? Where, rural Africa? I work in Indiana, get paid less than I would at most places, and still make way more than that. OP is regarded.

2022 December 29, u/enoughfuckery, “anon is an electrician”, in Reddit, r/4chan:

He makes it hard to be a bull right now. For the first and probably only time, I hope and think maybe he's right 👀. Or I'm regarded and now we will see a huge bear market.

(Internet slang, euphemistic) Filter-avoidance spelling of retarded.


manliness

en-noun

manliness (usually uncountable, plural manlinesses)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-manliness.wav

From Middle English manlynes, manlynesse. By surface analysis, manly + -ness.

Dressed only in flip-flops and a fuzzy blue bathrobe, which would be long enough on the mayor of Munchkin Land but on me is literally indecent, I attack the mower in a yanking frenzy, flailing around until the dramatic conclusion, wherein the mower refuses to start even though it is confronted by the full extent of my manliness because my too-short robe has flapped open in a cloud of flying sweat and hurled profanity.

2013 May 28, Doug Speirs, “Why you shouldn’t call me Mr. Fix It”, in Winnipeg Free Press:


world's oldest profession

the world's oldest profession (plural not attested)

the world's oldest profession (canonical)
oldest profession in the world (alternative)
oldest profession (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-world's oldest profession.wav

First appears c. 1888, coined by Rudyard Kipling as most ancient profession in the world. Alternative forms appeared in the early 1900s, present form popular by the 1930s. Similar terms with various senses (not necessarily prostitution) exist in other languages.

Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, “On the City Wall”, in In Black and White:

(literal translation) 世界上最古老的職業 /世界上最古老的职业 (shìjiè shàng zuì gǔlǎo de zhíyè)

(literal translation) อาชีพที่เก่าแก่ที่สุดในโลก


answer the call of nature

en-verb

answer the call of nature (third-person singular simple present answers the call of nature, present participle answering the call of nature, simple past and past participle answered the call of nature)

answers the call of nature (present singular third-person)
answering the call of nature (participle present)
answered the call of nature (participle past)
answered the call of nature (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-answer the call of nature.wav

From answer the call + call of nature in reference to a need to urinate or defecate.

Che [Guevara] jumped from his seat and rushed from the room, pursued by the entire press corps. Down the hall he went, and into the men's room where, surrounded by reporters, he proceeded to answer the call of nature, shouting: "Liberdad!"

1978 April 18, Charles Lynch, “Trudeau struts and frets”, in Ottawa Citizen, Canada, retrieved 2010-09-03, page 7:

Unfortunately mountain climbers, like everybody else, need to answer the call of nature, and there are few toilet facilities on mountains.

2007 July 24, “Europe's Highest Toilets Installed on Mont Blanc”, in Spiegel Online International, retrieved 2010-09-03:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) To satisfy a bodily urge to urinate or defecate.


late unpleasantness

en-noun

late unpleasantness (plural late unpleasantnesses)

It is unlikely that anyone with significant knowledge of the Army or the late unpleasantness in Southeast Asia, upon reading these two sentences, would respond other than with a scatological barnyard expletive or some more genteel utterance representing the same level of acceptance.

2003, Zane E. Finkelstein (referring to the Vietnam War), (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2005-08-28:

(euphemistic) A recent war, especially (historical) the American Civil War.


ding dong

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(colloquial, often humorous, euphemistic) Alternative form of ding-dong; a penis.


extract the urine

en-verb

extract the urine (third-person singular simple present extracts the urine, present participle extracting the urine, simple past and past participle extracted the urine)

extracts the urine (present singular third-person)
extracting the urine (participle present)
extracted the urine (participle past)
extracted the urine (past)

Now, Merilyn is neither bizarre nor eccentric in the ordinary sense but when she started talking about the ‘presence’ in her shop I thought she was extracting the urine.

1997, Des Ryan, “Close brush with hairafter”, in The Messenger: Selected Columns from Messenger Newspapers, 1993-2003, Wakefield Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 42:

Actually Connie it refers to the way we extract the urine out of the apparent social differences between each country.

2001 August 19, "BigAl", “Re: fare thee well”, in alt.music.leonard-cohen (Usenet):

This is what the English do; take the piss (or as we say at school, extract the urine).

2006, Tyne O'Connell, Dumping Princess, Bloomsbury USA, published 2007, →ISBN, page 34:

(idiomatic, humorous, euphemistic) to mock, make fun of something


horse pucky

‘Mum says I'm too young for caffeinated drinks,’ I say. ‘Horse pucky,’ says Dad.

When the sky lightened in another of those diffuse spasms, I could see horsepucky pats, some of them fresh.

(slang, euphemistic) Horseshit, nonsense, horse hockey.


shucks

Shucks. It's too bad you can't make it to the party.

(colloquial, euphemistic) Exclamatory response to a minor disappointment.

Aw, shucks, ma'am, catching those wild horses was easy.

(colloquial, euphemistic) A bashful expression of thanks.


corny

en-adj

corny (comparative cornier, superlative corniest)

cornier (comparative)
corniest (superlative)

From Middle English corny, equivalent to corn + -y. In the "hackneyed" sense, from "corn catalogue jokes", reputedly low-quality jokes that were formerly printed in mail-order seed catalogues.


doo-doo

Like a fly to doo-doo / You need me like a bird needs wings

1993, “El Jefe Speaks”, performed by Clutch:

Child: You're a doo-doo head.

(colloquial, euphemistic, often childish) Excrement.


pass gas

en-verb

pass gas (third-person singular simple present passes gas, present participle passing gas, simple past and past participle passed gas)

passes gas (present singular third-person)
passing gas (participle present)
passed gas (participle past)
passed gas (past)


functioning

en-adj

functioning (comparative more functioning, superlative most functioning)

more functioning (comparative)
most functioning (superlative)

Oh, he looked pretty functioning to me.

(euphemistic, of a person) Mentally disabled but still able to survive in wider society.


go to pot

en-verb

go to pot (third-person singular simple present goes to pot, present participle going to pot, simple past went to pot, past participle gone to pot)

goes to pot (present singular third-person)
going to pot (participle present)
went to pot (past)
gone to pot (participle past)

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Figuratively be cut up and tossed into a pot like meat.

They haven't been maintaining it, and the downtown area has really gone to pot over the past 20 years.

Iacke Straw. […] I haue his wife and children pledges, for his ſpeedie returne from the King, to whom he is gone with our meſſage.
Tom Miller. Let him take heede hee bring a wiſe anſwere to our worships, or els his pledges goes to the pot.

1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:

"Just stating facts. Novel thing in my line." The theologian stubbed out her cigarette on what appeared to be an antique ashtray. "Reynders is way off the beaten path on a good day, and we haven't had one of those in almost a year of days. With the damage done in the fighting—"

2023 September 22, HarryBlank, “Off Track”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-05-25:

(figuratively) To come to ruin, especially to decline or deteriorate.

At this moment the rabbit sprang from his arms and disappeared among the brush wood. "Go to pot," said the man, "you are a good-for-nothing dry-meated beast, to make the best of you."

1837 September 20, William Cullen Bryant, Calhoun’s Diminished Stature:

(archaic) Go to hell. (an angry dismissal)


lovemaking

en-noun

lovemaking (countable and uncountable, plural lovemakings)

I can give you more than simple love-making / I can give you ecstasy

1981, “Get on Up and Do It Again”, performed by Suzy Q:

Anyone who has lived in a dormitory, apartment building, or shared house knows that sounds of lovemaking are some of the most uncomfortable things to hear while trying to sleep.

2011 September 20, Jon Bittner, “Loud Sex Is A Billion Dollar Problem”, in Forbes:

(chiefly euphemistic) Sexual intercourse.


pass over

en-verb

pass over (third-person singular simple present passes over, present participle passing over, simple past and past participle passed over)

passes over (present singular third-person)
passing over (participle present)
passed over (participle past)
passed over (past)

"But why should I be in another room?" "You passed over in the night." "Passed over? Do you mean I died?" "Yes, lady, you died." There was a long silence.

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

Death does not change him, and when such a one passes over, he lingers to impress his vileness still further upon weak humanity.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 276:

(intransitive with over as adverbial particle, euphemistic) To die and thus progress to the afterlife.


chunky

en-adj

chunky (comparative chunkier or more chunky, superlative chunkiest or most chunky)

chunkier (comparative)
more chunky (comparative)
chunkiest (superlative)
most chunky (superlative)

I prefer chunky blonde girls to skinny brunettes.

“Nigel used to be chunky, huh?” “I was not chunky,” Nigel said testily. “I was just... hefty .

2009, Dan Elconin, Never After, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 112:

In sixth grade I was first propositioned by a chunky girl named Tijuana Downs. She called me on the telephone one evening and asked me if I would like to be her boyfriend.

2011, Broxin Delano, Black Sparrow, BalboaPress, →ISBN, page 19:


ethnicity

en-noun

ethnicity (countable and uncountable, plural ethnicities)

Chinese Indonesians
German Texan
Nuyorican

(casual, euphemistic) Race; common ancestry.


teahouse

teahouses (plural)
tea house (alternative)
tea-house (alternative)

(euphemistic) a public lavatory, particularly (dated US gay slang) as a meeting place for gay men.

tetera

a public lavatory particularly as a meeting place for gay men


pooh

Originally onomatopoeic ("perhaps ancient" according to Online Etymology Dictionary) for a puff of air, after earlier poh and similar to later pew, phew, pho, phoo, poof. Later influenced by poop, onomatopoeic for the sound of flatulating and defecating, and by interjections of disgust similar to phew, pee-ew. Interjection for an unpleasant smell possibly linked to French puer (“to stink”).

poo (alternative)
puh (alternative)
poogh (alternative)
pugh (alternative)

Mom offers everybody fudge and says ‘Oh, pooh!’ when she gets upset.

(euphemistic) Alternative form of poo: a minced oath for 'shit'.


ill repute

His list of sexual contacts was quite long, and included ladies from some of the ritzier establishments of ill repute across the border.

1997, Aileen Schumacher, Engineering for Murder, page 69:

(euphemistic) Prostitution and the sex industry.


house of ill repute

house of ill repute (plural houses of ill repute)


disappeared

(informal, euphemistic) Caused to disappear by someone, often for political reasons.


number two

number two (countable and uncountable, plural number twos)

I need to go number two.

He might have got up, without the bell's sounding, to do his number one, or number two, in his great big white chamber-pot.

1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:

(euphemistic, usually childish) Feces; the act of defecation.


back passage

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terminological inexactitude

terminological inexactitude (countable and uncountable, plural terminological inexactitudes)

Coined by Winston Churchill campaigning in the 1906 election, and repeated by him in the parliament,
: The conditions of the Transvaal ordinance ... cannot in the opinion of His Majesty's Government be classified as slavery in the extreme acceptance of the word without some risk of terminological inexactitude. — in the parliament 22 February 1906 (quoted in Nigel Rees, Sayings of the Century, 1984)
This first usage has only the literal sense of inaccurate terminology, but it was almost immediately taken up as a euphemism meaning an outright lie.


bat for both sides

en-verb

bat for both sides (third-person singular simple present bats for both sides, present participle batting for both sides, simple past and past participle batted for both sides)

bats for both sides (present singular third-person)
batting for both sides (participle present)
batted for both sides (participle past)
batted for both sides (past)


deactivate

deactivate (third-person singular simple present deactivates, present participle deactivating, simple past and past participle deactivated)

deactivates (present singular third-person)
deactivating (participle present)
deactivated (participle past)
deactivated (past)
de-activate (alternative)
deäctivate (alternative)

(Internet, euphemistic, neologism) to commit suicide


play with oneself

play with oneself (third-person singular simple present plays with oneself, present participle playing with oneself, simple past and past participle played with oneself)

plays with oneself (present singular third-person)
playing with oneself (participle present)
played with oneself (participle past)
played with oneself (past)


time of the month

en-noun

time of the month (plural times of the month)

times of the month (plural)
TOM (alternative)
that time of the month (alternative)

I'm so, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm just a little bit, you know... Well, I've got you know at the moment, so... I've got Aunt Irma visiting.
Do you not like Aunt Irma? I've got an aunt like that.
It's my term for... my time of the month.
What time of the month? The weekend?

2006 Mar. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 6

You have to admit, however, that during that time of the month, we are not at our most likable. Let's face it. We are swollen up like an overfed slug, our breath stinks, the tiniest irritant is magnified ten thousand times, and we cry at the drop of a hat.

2014, Becky Rutledge, Miss Becky's Charm School, Citadel Press, →ISBN:

It’s that time, that time of the month / Well I woke up early and I got a hunch

2014, “Crimson Wave”, in NVM, performed by Tacocat:

(euphemistic) Synonym of menstruation: the monthly period during which a fertile woman menstruates.


fandango

fandango (countable and uncountable, plural fandangos or fandangoes)

/fænˈdæŋ.ɡəʊ/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-fandango.wav

Borrowed from Spanish fandango, of uncertain origin. Possibly related to Portuguese fado, or of West African origin.

So, what? She strangled her and stuck a broken bottle up her... fandango?

2016, Sally Wainwright, 12:04 from the start, in Happy Valley, season 2, episode 2, spoken by Shafiq Shah (Shane Zaza):


capitation

capitation (countable and uncountable, plural capitations)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-capitation.wav

Learned borrowing from Latin capitātiōnem, from caput (“head”).

lbor

(India, euphemistic) A donation made to an educational institution to obtain admission.


courses

(rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) -oːɹsɪz

(non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) -oəsɪz

Nep [catnip] is generally used for women to procure their courses, being taken inwardly or outwardly, either alone or with other convenient herbs in a decoction to bathe them, of sit over the hot fumes thereof.

1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio, published 2007, page 201:

Nicholas Culpeper similarly reports in seventeenth century that “the garden chervil doth moderately warm the stomach . . . it is good to provoke urine, or expel the stone in the kidneys, to send down women's courses and to help the pleurisy and prickling of the sides.”

2008, Jack Staub, quoting Nicholas Culpeper, 75 Exceptional Herbs for Your Garden, Gibbs Smith, →ISBN, page 51:


high tide

en-noun

high tide (countable and uncountable, plural high tides)

high tides (plural)
hightide (alternative)
high-tide (alternative)

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Do you not like Aunt Irma? I've got an aunt like that.
It's my term for... my time of the month.
What time of the month? The weekend?
No... you know, it... it's high tide.
But we're not on the coast.


lady friend

(euphemistic) A quainter term for girlfriend, often used ironically.


crimes

'Oh crimes,' muttered Kate, clutching her mother's arm as Captain went up St Martin's Lane and turned into Castle Street, 'He's goin' into Seven Dials.'

2006, Bowering Sivers, Jammy Dodgers Go Underground, page 138:

(obsolete, colloquial, euphemistic) Christ; crikey.


horsefeathers

The "nonsense" sense, a euphemism for horseshit, is horse + feathers, a nonexistent item as only birds have feathers. Compare hen’s teeth.
The "horse hair" sense notes the similarity of that hair to bird feathers.
Regarding the roofing sense, compare feathering strip and horsefeathers.

Horsefeathers! You knew it was a bad idea and now you're just making excuses about it.


horsefeathers

Dismissing the rumors as "horsefeathers", he advised everybody to disregard them.

The most notorious of these was Templeton Rye: Said to be from Iowa, it was purportedly distilled using a Prohibition-era recipe that was a favorite of none other than Al Capone who, according to legend, called it "the good stuff." The story turned out to be such a load of horsefeathers that Templeton was found guilty of deceptive marketing, and forced by a judge to issue partial refunds to its customers.

2015, Tony Sachs, “The Delicious Secret Behind Your Favorite Whiskey: The Best Spirits from MGP”, in Serious Eats:

(euphemistic, US) Nonsense; indicates disbelief.


for Pete's sake

Euphemistic variant of for Christ's sake, for God's sake; "Pete" either invoking Saint Peter or influenced by for pity's sake.

For Pete's sake, get off the computer! You've been on there for ages!

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance


for goodness' sake

For goodness' sake, get off the computer! You've been on there for ages!

You're 47, for goodness' sake. Too old for this!

2015 April 28, Tracey Spicer, “Taming tiny terrors: How to have a happy family holiday”, in The Press:

She's 1.98m for goodness sake! How can you not find her!?

2017 May 1, Dana Johannsen, “What happens when you watch six hours of ANZ Premiership netball?”, in New Zealand Herald:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.

herra paratkoon

used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance

For goodness' sake, I spelled that word correctly. I never knew I could do that.

No salesman is ever a bore if he can make us throw up our hands and say, "Well, for goodness' sake! What do you know about that ?" Yes, surprise is the thing.

1921, Printers' Ink Monthly - Volumes 3-4, page 42:

“For goodness' sake,” Einstein exclaimed. “So that was the famous caviar!" He paused for a moment, then added, "Well, if you offer gourmet food to peasants like me, you know they won't appreciate it."

2008, Walter Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe, →ISBN:

For goodness' sake, we go to Spain for a week and get new next-door neighbors! How lovely!

2014, Louise Millar, The Hidden Girl: A Novel, →ISBN, page 179:

I thought, for goodness' sake, fancy them being the same!

2016 November 24, Te Ahua Maitland, “Woman celebrating 100th birthday receives 50 double-ups on cards”, in The Southland Times:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Used to express surprise or amazement.

They'll try all they can to deceive and to cheat, But for goodness sake don't say I told you.

1888, Harrison and Morton, The Tippecanoe Campaign Songster:

Well, for goodness sake let me know if I can do anything.

2012 -, Hazel Holt, No Cure for Death, →ISBN:

I am not normally a stickler for tradition – I had a baby out of wedlock, for goodness sake – but for some reason I want Harry to be my husband.

2013 August 26, Bryony Gordon, “'I am not normally a stickler for tradition – I had a baby out of wedlock, for goodness sake'”, in The Telegraph:

But for goodness sake, please review the plan and come up with detail that distinguishes each groups cultural identity and is something that the players can own.

2017 May 9, “Time for former champions to start again”, in Taranaki Daily News:

These young women are busy, for goodness' sake, tired and overworked, stressed, trying to find time for themselves in days that have too little.

2017 May 14, Susan Estrich, “Mothers and memories”, in The Exponent Telegram:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Used for emphasis


vitals

ἐκ δὲ Μελάνθιον ἦγον ἀνὰ πρόθυρόν τε καὶ αὐλήν:
τοῦ δ᾽ ἀπὸ μὲν ῥῖνάς τε καὶ οὔατα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ
τάμνον, μήδεά τ᾽ ἐξέρυσαν, κυσὶν ὠμὰ δάσασθαι,
χεῖράς τ᾽ ἠδὲ πόδας κόπτον κεκοτηότι θυμῷ.

1919, A.T. Murray, transl., The Odyssey (Loeb Classical Library Edition), →ISBN, page 371:

Then forth they led Melanthius through the doorway and the court, and cut off his nostrils and his ears with the pitiless bronze, and drew out his vitals for the dogs to eat raw, and cut off his hands and his feet in their furious wrath.

(plural only, dated, euphemistic) The male genitals.


crud

crud (countable and uncountable, plural cruds)

From Middle English crud, crudde (“coagulated milk; curd; any coagulated or thickened substance; dregs”), from Old English crūdan (“to press”). Doublet of curd.

(uncountable, euphemistic) Feces; excrement.


easement

easement (countable and uncountable, plural easements)

From Anglo-Norman aisement, easement, eisement, esament, esement, and Middle French aisement (“comfort, convenience, ease, facility, opportunity; a benefit, relief; a right to use land, a thing, etc.; a privy”), from aisier (“to put at ease; to facilitate”) + -ment (“-ment, suffix forming nouns, usually the action or state resulting from verbs”).

der

[T]he lowest servants at Hampton Court used the great communal toilet capable of seating fourteen people at once named the ‘Common Jakes’ or the ‘Great House of Easement’. This giant facility discharged into a tank which was washed clean by the waters of the moat. Even so, the tank emitted a dreadful smell and frequently had to be scrubbed clean.

2011, Lucy Worsley, “The Whole World is a Toilet”, in If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 153:

He lit candles in the passage next to Patrick's closet, where his lordship wrote his letters, did his easement, took his bath, and knelt on winter nights to say his blackest prayers.

2013, Shirley McKay, “A Merry Month”, in Friend & Foe (A Hew Cullen Mystery), Edinburgh: Polygon, →ISBN:

(archaic, euphemistic) The act of relieving oneself: defecating or urinating.


unhoused

This combination of law and design can sometimes be so effective that it renders the entire problem of homelessness—and also the unhoused people themselves—invisible to others.

2017, Robert Rosenberger, Callous Objects: Designs against the Homeless, U of Minnesota Press, →ISBN:

In a remote stretch of southern California desert, at least 200 unhoused people live outside, battling the extremes: blazing hot temperatures in the summer, snow in winter, rugged terrain inaccessible to many vehicles, a constant wind that blankets everything with silt, and no running water for miles.

2022 July 18, Sam Levin, “As police crack down on homelessness, unhoused end up in Mojave desert”, in The Guardian:


stinking

en-adj

stinking (comparative more stinking, superlative most stinking)

more stinking (comparative)
most stinking (superlative)

From Middle English stynkynge, stinkinge, stinkinde, stinkende, stynkande, stynkand, from Old English stincende, from Proto-Germanic *stinkwandz (“stinking”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *stinkwaną (“to stink”), equivalent to stink + -ing. Cognate with Dutch stinkend (“stinking, stinky”), German stinkend (“stinking, stinky”), Danish stinkende (“stinking, stinky”), Norwegian stinkende (“stinking, stinky”).

cog

We don’t need your stinking sympathy.

(euphemistic) An intensifier, a hypallage.


think of England

en-verb

think of England (third-person singular simple present thinks of England, present participle thinking of England, simple past and past participle thought of England)

thinks of England (present singular third-person)
thinking of England (participle present)
thought of England (participle past)
thought of England (past)

He inspected the ridged tips, spotted a piece of dirt, and spat on the instrument, wiping it dry on his sleeve. ‘Right! Hold still, think of England!’ He pushed the forceps into the wound, following the track of the probe, […]

1982, Bernard Cornwell, chapter 19, in Sharpe's Company, London: HarperCollins, published 1994, →ISBN, pages 187–188:

A strange white-faced man with wild eyes, toupee at a rakish tilt, twisted by cramp, armed with a Lee Enfield. I sloped arms stiffly and marched out of his life; shouting as I left, ‘Don't do it, whatever it is! Lie down, and think of England!’

1987, William Rushton, Spy Thatcher, London: Pavilion, →ISBN, page 119:

Do I have to have sex? All right, I'll do it for Britain. I'll think of England.

2005, A. Housemate, quoting Abi Titmuss, The Wit and Wisdom of Reality TV, London: Orion, →ISBN, page 101:

But Robert had been cheeriness itself, had told them to buck up and think of England, reminding them that moaning wasn’t going to beat the Jerries.

2012, Margaret James, The Penny Bangle, Harpenden: Choc Lit, →ISBN, page 43:

close one's eyes and think of England#English

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Clipping of close one's eyes and think of England, and its variants.


frig

frig (third-person singular simple present frigs, present participle frigging, simple past and past participle frigged)

frigs (present singular third-person)
frigging (participle present)
frigged (participle past)
frigged (past)

From Middle English friggen (“to quiver”), perhaps from Old English *frygian (“to rub, caress”), related to Old English frēogan, frīgan (“to love, release, embrace, caress”), frīge (pl., “love”). Compare also Faroese fríggj (“erotocism, sex, flirtation”). More at free.
Alternative etymology derives frig (Early Modern English frigge), from Middle English frikien (“to keep (the arms and hands) in constant motion”), from Old English frician (“to dance”).

inh

Come on, honey, let’s frig.

Not that we didn’t frig in the day-time too.

1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 113:

(ambitransitive, slang, euphemistic) To fuck; to have sex.


frig

I don’t give a frig!


put to sleep

en-verb

put to sleep (third-person singular simple present puts to sleep, present participle putting to sleep, simple past and past participle put to sleep)

puts to sleep (present singular third-person)
putting to sleep (participle present)
put to sleep (participle past)
put to sleep (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-put to sleep.wav

In one instance where a large number of dogs were put to sleep in the lethal chamber, one was found in deepest sleep, but still breathing, side by side and partly covered by another that was not only dead but cold and rigid.

1885 August, Benjamin Ward Richardson, “Measures of Vital Tenacity”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 27:

If he were a horse, not a chancellor, Scholz would be humanely put to sleep.

2024 May 4, Simon Tisdall, “Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen, the double act that is steering the EU ever rightwards”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

(transitive, euphemistic) To kill an animal painlessly, often with an injection; to euthanize.


block and tackle

en-noun

block and tackle (plural block and tackles or blocks and tackles)

block and tackles (plural)
blocks and tackles (plural)

(euphemistic) The underwear combination of stockings worn with a suspender belt.


d-word

(euphemistic) The word dick or dickhead.

(euphemistic) The word douche or douchebag.


a-word

(euphemistic) A bad word that starts with the letter a, such as ass/arse or asshole/arsehole.

It was Lent; “alleluia” is not sung in the Catholic church during Lent. I told her Babloo liked songs with the “A-word.”

2008, Mary Poplin, Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service, →ISBN, page 71:

My congregation is frustrated because we can’t sing carols during Advent, and now we can’t say the A-word [Alleluia] during Lent.

2009, Melinda A. Quivik, Serving the Word, →ISBN, page 43:

What we give up — the A-word. […] I added what we call the A-word in Lent, since we stop saying “a-l-l-e-l-u-i-a” for this season (Shhhh!).

2022 April 1, Keith Dorwick, “Deeper and deeper into Lenten quiet”, in Peninsula Daily News:

(euphemistic, Christianity) The word alleluia, typically in the context of Lent since the Lenten liturgies of various Christian churches omit the alleluia.


p-word

(euphemistic) Any vulgar word starting with p, e.g. piss, penis, pussy, poof, prick, or Paki.


so-and-so

so-and-sos (plural)
so and so (alternative)

That miserable so-and-so messed up my work!

“How can five hundred pounds become a hundred thousand pounds?!”
“I’m not a bank,” snapped Mr Big.
“No, you just rob them!” said Frank.
“Cocky little so-and-so, aren’t you?”

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

Greg [Wise]’s excellent to work with. Funny and incredibly playful. He gets to be married to me by day and Emma Thompson by night. What a lucky so-and-so. We all want to be married to Emma Thompson, don’t we? I certainly do.

2023 August 13, Michael Hogan, quoting Susan Wokoma, “Actor Susan Wokoma: ‘We all want to be married to Emma Thompson, don’t we?’”, in The Observer:

(euphemistic, derogatory) Used in place of epithets such as SOB, bastard, etc.


snip

From Dutch snippen (“to snip; shred”) or Low German snippen (“to snip; shred”), of imitative origin. Compare snap.

onomatopoeic

imitative

(definite, the snip, euphemistic) A vasectomy.


what the heck

So there, I know, was somebody or a combination of somebodys who did not know what the heck they were doing or dealing with.

1974, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture, Agriculture and the Fuel Crisis: Hearings..., page 88:

- Eggman: What else? I shall take Gizoid back and fulfill my plans to take over the world! Once I have Gizoid acquire my ultimate weapon, "Final Egg Blaster,"… I’ll be able to use it as my final weapon of destruction!!
- Knuckles: What the heck is the "Final Egg Blaster"?!

2003, Sonic Team, Sonic Battle, Sega, published 2003, Game Boy Advance, level/area: Knuckles’ Story:


commode

Borrowed from French commode (literally “convenient”). Doublet of comodo.


bathroom tissue

en-noun

bathroom tissue (countable and uncountable, plural bathroom tissues)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bathroom tissue.wav


men's room

Originally a clipped form of gentlemen's room, originally a separate waiting room for men in public buildings such as railway stations but by the appearance of men's room also used as a euphemism for men's lavatories.

Other rooms intended for use by men, as waiting rooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, etc.


ladies' room

Originally in reference to any chamber or suite reserved for the use of women, whether public or private. Popularized by its use as a clipped form of ladies' waiting room in reference to gender-separated facilities at train stations, etc. Its use in reference to lavatories replaced other euphemisms including cloak room, lavatory room, toilet room, private room, etc.

дамска тоалетна

lavatory intended for women — see also toilet

The women's toilet (as distinguished from the ladies' room in a speakeasy, the johnny at school, the little girls' room at a party in an apartment, and the wash-my-hands on a train) was clean enough.

1935, John O'Hara, BUtterfield 8, Ch. ix, p. 279

A room belonging to or intended for some or all women, particularly:

(euphemistic) A public lavatory intended for use by women.


ladies'

Kemp left me to go to the ladies'. I pulled out a paperback I had in my pocket.

"...Where's the ladies' in this joint? I've to powder me nose."

1996, Deirdre Purcell, Roses After Rain, page 335:

"I'm dressed as a woman, but I am still technically a man. I believe that to comply with the law of the land I ought to continue to use the Gents', but in order not to look out place I intend to use the Ladies' from now on. I trust none of you will grass on me..."

2004, David Nobbs, Sex and Other Changes, page 95:

When he was quite satisfied with his handiwork, The Poet opened the toilet window, and then walked quickly from the gents' into the ladies'.

2014, Trevor Dalton, Rhyme for Reason, page 102:

(informal and euphemistic) Clipping of ladies' room (“a lavatory intended for use by women”).


butthole

Don't be such a butthole.

(Canada, US, derogatory, euphemistic) An objectionable person; a bastard; a jerk.


va-jay-jay

va-jay-jays (plural)
vajayjay (alternative)
vajajay (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-va-jay-jay.wav

Jocular alteration of vagina, popularised by a 2006 use in “Grey’s Anatomy”. Compare vajay.

“My va-jay-jay itches”, yeasts my friend Anna scratchily into her cell phone.

2005 March 3, Billy Manes, “RETURN TO PARIS”, in Orlando Weekly:

will have progress pics soon…unless two babies decide to raid mah va-jay-jay, in which case, I guess I’ll have to wait.

2006 March 1, (anonymous), “Still here….on the couch”, Melanoma Uberalis, at www.msmelanie.prettyposies.com https://web.archive.org/web/20060616020810/http://www.msmelanie.prettyposies.com/?p=290

crouching on all fours about to push an 8-pound baby out of her va-jay-jay.

2006 March 29, Fara Kearnes, “Culture Clash Over Nude Britney Spears Sculpture”, in StarBlogs.net:

Clarice: So you’re bisexual.
Jamie: But I’m scared of other people’s va-jay-jays.

2009, Daniele Corsetto, Girls with Slingshots:


number one

He might have got up, without the bell's sounding, to do his number one, or number two, in his great big white chamber-pot.

1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:

(childish, euphemistic) Urine; urination.


bat for the other team

en-verb

bat for the other team (third-person singular simple present bats for the other team, present participle batting for the other team, simple past and past participle batted for the other team)

bats for the other team (present singular third-person)
batting for the other team (participle present)
batted for the other team (participle past)
batted for the other team (past)
bat for the other side (alternative)

From cricket or baseball, in print c. 1990.

(idiomatic, humorous, euphemistic) To be homosexual.


arouse

arouse (third-person singular simple present arouses, present participle arousing, simple past and past participle aroused)

arouses (present singular third-person)
arousing (participle present)
aroused (participle past)
aroused (past)

I can't wear wool underwear: it tends to arouse me at inappropriate times.

(transitive, euphemistic) To cause an erection of the penis or other physical signs of sexual arousal, such as fluid secretion.


son of a gun

→ Spanish: sanamagón

Euphemistic variant of son of a bitch. There are folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins, such as a reference to the disputed parentage of a child born aboard a ship (between the guns), or a child fathered by a soldier (also referred to as a "gun"). However, these etymologies are not supported by evidence.

That son of a gun stole my wallet!

A plaugue tauke dee, dou damn’d Shon of a Gun, de Deevil carry dee away alive for me; […]

1690, anonymous author, Teagueland Jeſts, or Bogg-Witticisms, part 2, page 138:

You Apollo's son, You're a son of a gun

1726, The British Apollo, 3rd edition, volume 2, [London]: Theodore Sanders, page 379:

Why, I say, old feller, what a happy feller I once thought you, and what a miserable son of a gun you really are!

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 61, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

"Why, Job, you old son of a gun, where the deuce have we got to now - eh?"

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

I don't break, I can hold the chrome / And it's weighing a ton and I'm a son of a gun

2002, “The Seed (2.0)”, in Phrenology, performed by The Roots:


son of a gun

Son of a gun! I just got stung by a wasp!

(euphemistic) Used to express anger, contempt, disgust, astonishment, disappointment, etc.


husky

en-adj

husky (comparative huskier, superlative huskiest)

huskier (comparative)
huskiest (superlative)

From husk + -y; in relation to voice, from the sense "dry as a husk" or "tough as a husk".

You look like a good, husky man to pitch in the barnyard […]

1910, Hamlin Garland, Other Main-Travelled Roads:

Word got around quickly that this plane, which has been flying since January, is bigger and huskier than our proposed C-5A […]

1965, Popular Mechanics, September issue, page 22:

(US, euphemistic) Burly, stout; sometimes as a modifier for boys' clothing sizes that fit a large waist or chest.


problem child

Of recent times very much has been said regarding the problem child, but as Lady Stradbroke pointed out last week but little is being done to cope with the menace that child is to itself and to the community.

1926 March 30, “General Topic: The Problem Child”, in The Age, Australia, retrieved 2009-06-11:

Hill was a problem child who was sent to Woodlands because his parents couldn't handle him at home.

2006 October 21, Alan Fryer, “The Children of Woodlands”, in ctv.ca, retrieved 2009-06-11:

(euphemistic) A child who is particularly difficult to raise or educate, especially due to a lack of self-control and disruptive and antisocial behavior.


do one's darnedest

en-verb

do one's darnedest (third-person singular simple present does one's darnedest, present participle doing one's darnedest, simple past did one's darnedest, past participle done one's darnedest)

does one's darnedest (present singular third-person)
doing one's darnedest (participle present)
did one's darnedest (past)
done one's darnedest (participle past)

I don't think he'll succeed, but he's doing his darnedest to build a working spaceship.

(idiomatic, euphemistic) To do one's utmost; to make every effort or to try every possible approach or way.


flipping

Do you flipping think I'm stupid?

Can't you see I'm trying to flipping fix something?

(euphemistic, British) fucking; used as an intensifier to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs


neutralize

neutralize (third-person singular simple present neutralizes, present participle neutralizing, simple past and past participle neutralized)

neutralizes (present singular third-person)
neutralizing (participle present)
neutralized (participle past)
neutralized (past)
neutralise (alternative)

From French neutraliser (first attested in 1642). By surface analysis, neutral + -ize.

At the beginning of the opening game, Shepard becomes the first human Spectre, an elite operative given broad authority to neutralize threats to galactic order in the galaxy.

2019, “Mass Effect (Trilogy)”, in Michael M. Levy, Farah Mendlesohn, editors, Aliens in Popular Culture, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 175:

“We managed to neutralise the guilty person. So there was no longer any imminent threat,” De Croo said, […]

2023 October 17, Lisa O'Carroll, Miranda Bryant, Lorenzo Tondo, quoting Alexander De Croo, “Killing of two Swedish football fans in Brussels ‘probably lone wolf’ attack”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(transitive, military, euphemistic) To kill.


unmentionables

Victorian Era euphemism, specifically the category of euphemism known as indirection (compare privates, behind, sleep together). First intended meaning was "trousers", attested from 1823. Meaning "underwear" is recorded from 1910.

The show understands that implied nudity is worlds funnier than actual nudity, and goes to delightful lengths to keep Marge and Homer’s unmentionables out of view.

2016 January 24, Les Chappell, “TV: Review: The Simpsons (Classic), “Natural Born Kissers” (season nine, episode 25, originally aired 05/17/1998)”, in The Onion AV Club:


A-level

(Internet slang, prostitution, euphemistic) Anal sex.


hoo-ha

hoo-has (plural)
hoohaa (alternative)
hoohar (alternative)
hoo-haa (alternative)
hoo-har (alternative)
hoo-hah (alternative)
hoohah (alternative)

Perhaps from Yiddish הו־האַ (hu-ha, “a hullabaloo”).
The second sense is likely expressive; compare such similar terms in other languages as Spanish juju.

onomatopoeic

expressive

Did that make her a good judge of character, or a fool who was letting her hoo-ha do her thinking for her?

She didn't want to lose their childish battle of wills, but neither did she want some parasite swimming up her hoo-ha.

2009, Lexi Ryan, Stilettos, Inc., page 163:

His mother later expressed disappointment that she'd been wrong, but by then, Belinda had a butterfly on her hoo-ha.

2010, Dee Tenorio, All Or Nothing, page 54:

Tara Davis-Woodhall, an American who placed sixth in the long jump at the Tokyo Games and took silver at last year’s world championships, reacted with equal parts humor and horror, commenting: “Wait my hoo haa is gonna be out.”

2024 April 13, Tara Davis-Woodhall, quotee, “‘My hoo haa is gonna be out’: US Olympians slam Nike for skimpy women’s track kit”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:


gom

There's a Lad, too, from York— but tho' he's a strange elf, / By gom! I respect him as much as myself,

1804, an entry in the Theatrical Journal of The European Magazine: And London Review, volume 45, page 373

O dang it, Roger, did 'e ever see sich a sight afore? My gom! what a glorious lumination like! My goles! what a mort of gentry-folk!

1829, “The Humours of Vauxhall”, in The Universal Songster, Or Museum of Mirth, volume 2, page 164:

"l'll drink as much cider as you 'plase, but by gom, sir, you munna come here to bork the trees over again."

1861, The Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer, volumes 9-10, page 36:

Robert took courage : "Eh, by gom, no. It wasn't hereabouts."

1908, Edmund Mackenzie Sneyd-Kynnersley, H. M. I.: Some Passages in the Life of One of H. M. Inspectors of Schools, page 224:


frigging

Will you get out of the frigging bathroom? We're already running late.

(minced oath, euphemistic) A minced oath of "fucking" as an intensifier.


lights-out

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-lights-out.wav

It's gonna be lights out for you, pal!

Hardy landed a picture perfect right uppercut square on Padilla's jaw. It was lights out for the formerly undefeated pugilist.

1990 Feb, “Sparring in the Financial Markets”, in Black Enterprise, volume 20, number 7, page 162:

Then, come November, the hunters are sitting there waiting for the unsuspecting gullible deer, and then it's lights out for the deer.

2010, “A Memo from the devil”, in Catholic Bible 101, archived from the original on 2010-01-31:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Something hopeless, over; unconsciousness. [(usually) with for and noun phrase]


my gosh

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-my gosh.wav


oh my gosh

oh my gosh ! (canonical)
oh, my gosh (alternative)
ohmygosh (alternative)
omigosh (alternative)

(idiomatic, US, UK, euphemistic) oh my God!


go to the bathroom

en-verb

go to the bathroom (third-person singular simple present goes to the bathroom, present participle going to the bathroom, simple past went to the bathroom, past participle gone to the bathroom)

goes to the bathroom (present singular third-person)
going to the bathroom (participle present)
went to the bathroom (past)
gone to the bathroom (participle past)

He had been married to Vi for twenty-one years, and he still found it impossible to go to the bathroom when she was in there with him.

Calvin had spilled orange juice on his lap during breakfast and worried that someone might think he had gone to the bathroom in his pants.

1995, Louis Sachar, Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger:

It seems that Chris [a dog] squatted to go to the bathroom on the carpet and Chuck panicked and jumped up, rushed over, and managed to catch the droppings in his hand.

2009, Marcia Stedron, My Roller Coaster Life as an Army Wife, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 57:

(euphemistic, chiefly US) Synonym of use the toilet: to urinate or defecate, especially (but not exclusively) while visiting a bathroom.


wet the bed

wet the bed (third-person singular simple present wets the bed, present participle wetting the bed, simple past and past participle wet the bed or wetted the bed)

wets the bed (present singular third-person)
wetting the bed (participle present)
wet the bed (participle past)
wet the bed (past)
wetted the bed (participle past)
wetted the bed (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wet the bed.wav

to wet oneself

nearly synonymous, whereas the distinction is wetting one's clothing while awake versus wetting the bedclothes, usually while asleep

(euphemistic) To go bad, to fail. Often said of machines; a euphemism for shit the bed.


go to sleep

go to sleep (third-person singular simple present goes to sleep, present participle going to sleep, simple past went to sleep, past participle gone to sleep)

goes to sleep (present singular third-person)
going to sleep (participle present)
went to sleep (past)
gone to sleep (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-go to sleep.wav