Thursday, September 6, 2012

Face-making

The Atlantic has a nice list up of 19th century British slang for "sex."  Here are the best ones:

  • Amorous congress: 
  • To say two people were engaged in the amorous congress was by far the most polite option on the list, oftentimes serving as the definition for other, less discreet synonyms.
  • Basket-making: 
  • "Those two recently opened a basket-making shop." From a method of making children's stockings, in which knitting the heel is called basket-making .
  • Bread and butter: 
  • One on top of the other. "Rumor has it he found her bread and butter fashion with the neighbor."
  • Face-making: 
    Aside from the obvious, this also comes from "making children," because babies have faces.
  • Blanket hornpipe: 
  • Green gown: 
  • Giving a girl a green gown can only happen in the grass.
  • Lobster kettle: 
  • A woman who sleeps with soldiers coming in at port is said to "make a lobster kettle" of herself.

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