A GLOSSARY OF SEXUAL SLANG

Oh perish the use of the four-letter words
Whose meanings are never obscure!
The Angles and Saxons, those bawdy old birds,
Were vulgar, obscene, and impure.


But cherish the use of the weaseling phrase
That never quite says what you mean!
You'd better be known for your hypocrite ways
Than as vulgar, impure, and obscene.
                                                                         (Anon.)

In our society it is not always easy to talk about sex. As we have seen in this book, the current standard terms for sex organs and sexual behavior are often pretentious, difficult to pronounce, imprecise, and misleading, while the simpler, more graphic slang expressions are considered "dirty" and cannot be used in polite conversation. Furthermore, there is now a growing army of sexologists who are busy coining new words and expressions every day, and who are confusing not only the general public, but also each other with their various cabalistic and neo-archaic professional jargons. At the same time, many formerly silent sexual minorities are speaking out, trying to free themselves from negative semantic labels or to give them a new, positive meaning. As a result of all this, discussions often lead nowhere, misunderstandings abound, and communication breaks down.


This is especially true for the communication between different age groups. The older generation has been trained to speak "properly" about sex, but most young people have an instinctive aversion against "heavy" Greek and Latin terms, and they sense the prudery and cultural snobbery which led to their official adoption. After all, when translated, these terms often say neither more nor less than our suppressed Anglo-Saxon words, and thus, from a purely logical standpoint, there is no reason why they should be considered superior. Indeed, in almost any area except sex the vernacular is preferred.


Most of our modern "dirty" words were once perfectly clean, and even today many people find nothing wrong with them, but use them regularly in private. At any rate, they are usually the only sexual terms young people know, and it goes without saying that anyone who wants to teach or counsel them must be familiar with their language. The exclusive use of "four-letter words" in the classroom is hardly desirable, but sometimes it can at least break the ice. By the same token, students and confused persons who feel that they are being understood by their teachers or counselors are more likely to ask those questions that really trouble them.


Of course, as any intelligent student will soon discover, our sexual slang also has serious shortcomings. While it is often forceful, vivid, and even humorous, it can also be biased, narrow, and simpleminded. It does not always help us to understand what it attempts to describe. In this respect, some carefully chosen professional terms may prove much more practical. Under the circumstances, it seems advisable to provide both teachers and students with a double glossary of sexual standard terms and sexual slang. Such glossary "works both ways" and can therefore help them to bridge the "communication gap". It may also be useful to doctors, social workers, police officers, and other professionals in their work. Finally, it may be welcome to ordinary citizens who want to understand modern "underground" literature or the "sex ads" in certain magazines.


Obviously, the following brief glossary is not complete. New terms and phrases are being invented all the time, and many old ones go out ot fashion. Some slang expressions are also confined to particular geographical regions or change their meaning from one region to another. Still, the few words listed here can give the reader a first impression of the "unofficial" sexual language in most of the United States today.

STANDARD TERMS SLANG TERMS I. THE HUMAN BODY       anus asshole, bung hole, butt hole breasts boobs, headlights, knockers, tits buttocks ass, behind, buns, butt, fanny, rear clitoris button, clit gonorrhea the clap, a dose, the drip, gleet, morning drop, a strain, the  whites hymen cherry, maidenhead menstruation the curse, wearing the rag penis cock, dick, dong, joy stick, meat, organ, pecker, peter, poker,  prick, rod, tool, wang, weenie rectum ass scrotum bag, sack semen come, cream, cum, jism, load, love juice syphilis bad blood, haircut, Old Joe, pox, sill, syph testicles balls, family jewels, gonads, gones, nuts venereal disease social disease, VD vagina (or vulva) bearded clam, bearded lady, beaver, box, cunt, honey pot, manhole,  muff, pussy, quim, snatch, toolbox, twat     II. HUMAN SEXUAL BEHAVIOR       ambisexual(ity) AC/DC an ambisexual person switch hitter, trade anal intercourse assfucking, cornholing, the Greek way anilingus (licking of the anus) reaming, ream job, rimming condom French letter, love glove, raincoat, rubber, safe, safety cunnilingus cunt lapping, eating out, eating pussy, French art, trenching,  muff diving ejaculation coming ejaculation during sleep wet dream to ejaculate to come, to shoot erection boner, hard-on fellatio blowing somebody, blow job, cocksucking, doing somebody, French art, trenching, going down on somebody, sucking somebody group sex daisy chain, gang bang, group grope homosexual male cocksucker, fag, faggot, fruit, gay, homo, nellie, pansy, queen,  queer, sister homosexual female dyke, lessie, lez masturbation beating off, beating one's meat, hand fuck, hand job, jacking  off, jerking off, pocket pool, rubbing off (females), whacking off prostitute male hustler, stud prostitute female B-girl, hooker, lady of the evening, streetwalker, working girl sexually excited horny, hot, juicy (females), turned on to have sexual intercourse to ball, to bang, to fuck, to get laid, to get into somebody's pants, to get a piece, to get a piece of ass, to get some tail,  to have the banana peeled, to hump, to lay somebody, to make somebody, to make out with somebody, to roll in the hay, to rub bellies, to score, to screw     SLANG TERMS STANDARD TERMS     AC/DC ambisexual(ity) ass buttocks or rectum asshole anus (the rectal opening) B&D Bondage and Discipline: sadism (see also s/m) B-girl a female prostitute bad blood syphilis bag scrotum to ball to have sexual intercourse to ball somebody to insert one's penis in either the vagina or rectum of a sexual partner balls testicles to bang somebody to insert one's penis in either the vagina or rectum of a sexual partner bearded clam, bearded lady vulva or vagina to beat off to masturbate to beat one's meat to masturbate beaver vulva or vagina behind buttocks to blow somebody to fellate somebody (to suck somebody's penis) blow job fellatio (sucking the penis) boner erection boobs breasts bottom man a man who has a penis inserted in his rectum box vulva or vagina broad girl bull bitch, bull dyke a masculine looking lesbian bung hole anus (the rectal opening) buns buttocks butch masculine looking butt buttocks butt hole anus (the rectal opening) button clitoris cherry hymen chick girl chicken a male adolescent chicken hawk a man who prefers male adolescents as sexual partners circle jerk group masturbation clap gonorrhea clit clitoris closet queen a male homosexual who does not admit his homosexuality cock penis cocksucker a male homosexual come semen to come to have an orgasm to come out (of the closet) to admit one's homosexuality to cornhole somebody to insert one's penis in the rectum of a sexual partner cream semen cum semen cunt vagina or vulva cunt lapping cunnilingus (sucking the vulva) the curse menstruation daisy chain group sex dick penis discipline sadism to do somebody to suck somebody's sex organs dong penis a dose gonorrhea drag clothing of the opposite sex drag queen a male homosexual who sometimes wears female clothes the drip gonorrhea dyke a female homosexual (lesbian) to eat somebody to have oral intercourse to eat somebody out to engage in cunnilingus (to suck somebody's vulva) to eat pussy to engage in cunnilingus (to suck somebody's vulva) fag, faggot a male homosexual fag hag a woman who prefers the company of male homosexuals fairy a male homosexual family jewels testicles fanny buttocks FFA "Fist Fuckers of America" i.e. men who enjoy certain  sadistic practices (see also s/m) fistfucking inserting a hind or fist into the rectum (a dangerous practice that can lead to serious injuries) flagwaver exhibitionist French active a person who sucks somebody's sex organs French art oral intercourse French kiss an open-mouth kiss French letter condom French passive a person who has his or her sex organs sucked to french somebody to suck somebody's sex organs fruit a male homosexual fruit fly a woman who prefers the company of male homosexuals to fuck to have sexual intercourse to fuck somebody to insert one's penis in either the vagina or rectum of a sexual partner gang bang group sex or gang rape (several persons raping the same victim) gay homosexual to get into somebody's pants to have sexual intercourse to get laid to have sexual intercourse to get off to have an orgasm to get a piece of ass to have sexual intercourse (not necessarily anal intercourse) to get some tail to have sexual intercourse gleet gonorrhea to go down on somebody to suck somebody's sex organs golden shower urination on a person's body gonads testicles gones testicles Greek active a man who inserts his penis in his partner's rectum Creek passive a person who has a penis inserted in the rectum the Greek way anal intercourse group grope group sex haircut syphilis hand fuck masturbation hand job masturbation hard-on erection to have the banana peeled to have sexual intercourse head lights breasts homo a male homosexual honeypot vulva or vagina hooker a female prostitute horny sexually excited hot sexually excited to be hung to have a large penis to hump somebody to insert one's penis in either the vagina or the rectum of a  sexual partner hustler a male prostitute to jack off to masturbate to jerk off to masturbate jism semen john the customer of a prostitute joy stick penis juicy sexually excited (females) to knock up to make pregnant knockers breasts lady of the evening a female prostitute to lay somebody to have sexual intercourse les, lessie, lez a female homosexual (lesbian) load semen love glove condom love juice semen maidenhead hymen to make out to have sexual intercourse to make somebody to have sexual intercourse manhole vulva or vagina meat penis morning drop gonorrhea M/S Master/Slave (A confusing misinterpretation of s/m, since the  master is a sadist (s), the slave a masochist (m). See also s/m  and B/D) muff vulva or vagina muff diving cunnilingus (sucking the vulva) nellie an effeminate male homosexual nelly effeminate nuts testicles Old Joe syphilis organ penis pansy an effeminate male homosexual pecker penis peeping Tom voyeur (a man who watches people undress or having sexual intercourse) peter penis prick penis pocket pool masturbation pox syphilis pussy vulva or vagina queen an effeminate male homosexual queer homosexual quim vulva or vagina raincoat condom to ream somebody to lick somebody's rectal opening (anus) ream job anilingus (licking the rectal opening) rear buttocks rice queen a homosexual who prefers Asian partners to rim somebody to lick somebody's rectal opening (anus) rod penis to roll in the hay to have sexual intercourse to rub bellies to have sexual intercourse to rub off to masturbate (females) rubber condom sack scrotum safe condom safety condom to score to have sexual intercourse to screw to have sexual intercourse to screw somebody to insert one's penis in either the vagina or rectum oi a sexual partner to shoot to ejaculate short eyes child molester siff (or syph) syphilis sissy effeminate sister a male homosexual sixty-nine (69) simultaneous mutual oral intercourse s/m sadistic/masochistic (See also M/S and B/D) snatch vulva or vagina social disease venereal disease soul kiss an open-mouth kiss spade queen a homosexual who prefers black partners steam queen a homosexual who frequents bath houses strain gonorrhea streetwalker a female prostitute stud 1. a sexually very active man or 2. a male prostitute to suck somebody to fellate somebody sugar daddy an older man who pays his sexual partners to swing 1. to be sexually promiscuous or 2. to engage in partner swapping to swing both ways to engage in both heterosexual and homosexual intercourse swinger a sexually promiscuous person swishy effeminate switch hitter an ambisexual person syph (or siff) syphilis tea room public toilet tea room queen a male homosexual who seeks partners in public toilets tits breasts tool penis tool box vulva or vagina top man a man who inserts his penis in his partner's rectum trade a heterosexual, sometimes an ambisexual man trick 1. a casual sex partner or 2. a customer for prostitution to trick to find a casual sex partner to turn a trick to find a customer for prostitution turned on sexually excited TS a transsexual TV a transvestite twat vulva or vagina VD venereal disease versatile willing to engage in all forms of sexual intercourse wang penis water sport urination on a person's body wearing the rag having a menstruation, to menstruate weenie penis wet dream ejaculation during sleep to whack off to masturbate the whites gonorrhea, also leukorrhea working girl a female prostitute

[Title Page] [Contents] [Preface] [Introduction] [The Human Body] [Sexual Behavior] [Sex and Society] [Epilogue] [Sexual Slang Glossary] [Sex Education Test] [Picture Credits]