Friday, November 9, 2007

The Quiminology Files

Twat's In a Name?
Twat is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Okay, so that's a horrible twisting of poor Juliet's words as she bemoaned the last name of her beloved Romeo. Though Shakespeare never used the word "twat," it does appear that word for ladies' lower petals may have its origins in poetry. Some scholars say poet Robert Browning used it erroneously in an 1841 poem thinking the word referred to a nun’s headgear. They traced his misconception to a 17th century satirical poem that referred to "a cardinal’s hat and an old nun’s twat," but others say they have been unable to locate that poem. Whatever the true origin of this unlovely term for our sexual equipment, it seems obvious neither poet meant it as an affectionate reference. So here’s our sentence, written in unwieldy archaic poetic meter with a toast to bygone vaginophobic poets: “If you would plot to make me hot and lay me down upon a cot, don’t call my honey pot a twat—or ride me to ecstasy you will not.”

For more details on the origins of this word, check out this month's Twatchamacallit column in Lady Jaided magazine.

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