Remembering my youthful reading of *The Pearl*. in which I seemed to
remember the term occurring in my experience for the first time (I read
Walter a bit later), I googled & lo & behold Wiktionary gives us
references to both that and Robert Nye's *Falstaff* -
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gamahuche
Nye presumably drew upon a vast range of erotica in his writings &
*Pearl* was a typical collection of underground Victorian pornography,
so Partridge seems to have missed something here, Robin - but he *does
give "gamaroosh, -ruche, n. and, hence, v. (Of women.) (To practise)
penilingism: late C.19-20 low. Ex Fr. (?ex Arabic). -
So it just seems that he was unwilling to follow that one up in all its
forms. It would be interesting to know if Nye had found an Elizabethan
source.
mj
Peter Cudmore wrote:
>I concur
>
>1865 E. SELLON New Epicurean (1875) 13 'Quick, quick, Blanche!' cried
>Cerise, 'come and gamahuche the gentleman.'
>
>Says OED
>
>Watch out for those owls, Robin
>
>P
>
>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to
>>poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>>Behalf Of Robin Hamilton
>>Sent: 14 July 2006 03:57
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: Gamahucher, or 'erotic verse in Australia'
>>
>>
>>
>>>Gamahucher,
>>>derrived from gamahuch, is an English erotic underground
>>>
>>>
>>term of the
>>
>>
>>>19th century meaning pussy licker or cock sucker.
>>>
>>>Now that should rouse you etymologists...no?
>>>
>>>
>>This etymologist is roused to say, "Garn!"
>>
>>It's a French term, not English, and not recorded in either
>>Farmer and Henley's +Slang+ or Partridge, so it certainly
>>wasn't at all common in English.
>>
>>Indeed, if it's found in English anywhere other than the
>>execrable Walter's
>>+My Secret Life+ (where it seems to be rather over-used) I'd be much
>>surprised.
>>
>>The passage Max quotes seems to be inaccurate pretentiousness
>>run riot.
>>
>>Robin
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
--
I start to spin the tale
you complain of my dic/
tion
Tom Verlaine
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