Lexicographer and slang expert Jonathon Green has been producing a series of timelines based on his comprehensive historical dictionary of slang, Green's Dictionary of Slang. He recently added timelines for vagina and penis. (If you don't see any words on the timelines, zoom out using the bar on the right.) They show that metaphors based on weapons and food have always been popular and that vulgarity is nothing new. There is a great deal of human creativity on display in this domain, especially when it comes to the most polite terms. Here are 35 of the classiest-sounding slang terms for vagina and penis from the past 600 years.
VAGINA
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Book reviews: 'Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves' and 'Notes to John'Feature The aughts' toxic pop culture and Joan Didion's most private pages
-
The FDA plans to embrace AI agencywideIn the Spotlight Rumors are swirling about a bespoke AI chatbot being developed for the FDA by OpenAI
-
Digital consent: Law targets deepfake and revenge pornFeature The Senate has passed a new bill that will make it a crime to share explicit AI-generated images of minors and adults without consent
