# Are you aware of the used of the term "balling" to mean having sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539 "2013-10-18T01:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/21 "2013-10-18T04:50:36Z")
Yes, I’m familiar with it, but I haven’t heard it for over 2 decades. Shit, I’m getting old! ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/22 "2013-10-18T05:12:46Z")
I pretty much just assume any pronounceable sequence of consonants and vowels is or has been a euphemism for sex within at least some small subculture. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/23 "2013-10-18T05:14:10Z")
As a 38 year old man, I do know that “balling” once had a primarily sexual connotation. But virtually no one in my lifetime has used it that way; the primary use of “baller” is an excellent basketball player or someone who has charisma similar to such a player. You’re overthinking it, like assuming a bunch of kids calling themselves “punks” are implying they’re gay. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/24 "2013-10-18T05:15:58Z")
I’ve only ever heard it in the Tenacious D song “Fuck Her Gently”. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/25 "2013-10-18T06:59:14Z")
I’ve heard of freeballing but not balling (until now). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/26 "2013-10-18T07:03:26Z")
John D MacDonald used it in _ **The Scarlet Ruse** _, 1972. I was seventeen then, and I’m sure I had heard the word before. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/27 "2013-10-18T07:07:38Z")
Commonly used in that sense in the '70s in Minnesota, but I haven’t heard it used that way for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/28 "2013-10-18T07:17:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Verb > ball (third-person singular simple present balls, present participle balling, simple past and past participle balled) > (transitive) To form or wind into a ball. > to ball cotton > (metalworking) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling. > (transitive, vulgar) **To have sexual intercourse with.** > (transitive, intransitive) To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls. > The horse balls; the snow balls. > (slang, usually in present participle) To be hip or cool. – [ball - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ball) Wish I had a date on that definition. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/29 "2013-10-18T08:17:20Z")
27 year old white US-born male here checking in. Never ever heard the term “balling” to mean “having sex.” I always think of balling as basically being cool and charismatic, and maybe a little cocky and prideful as well. A shirt that said “Balling to the top” would carry literally 0% sexual meaning for me whatsoever, and as a previous High School teacher, I would have no problem endorsing or allowing such a slogan for a student group/activity of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/30 "2013-10-18T08:44:15Z")
I only know this meaning because I have read the novel “Drop City”, mostly about hippies. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/31 "2013-10-18T09:03:13Z")
All of us witty boys in high school in the 70s would go to the girls basketball team and say “Wanna ball!” They thought that we wuz hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/32 "2013-10-18T11:01:58Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I think you are confusing Little Richard’s _Lucille_ with his _Good Golly Miss Molly_. Also “Rip It Up” (Little Richard again): _I’m gonna rock it up, I’m gonna rip it up, I’m gonna shake it up, gonna ball it up, I’m gonna rock it up, and ball tonight._ That’s pretty unambiguous, at least in the last line and especially in conjunction with the verses. Later covers by other artists changed it to “at the ball tonight” which is more innocent but still pretty raucous for a (dance) ball. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/33 "2013-10-18T11:15:47Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > As a 38 year old man, I do know that “balling” once had a primarily sexual connotation. But virtually no one in my lifetime has used it that way… Interesting. I’m a 40 year old woman, and I wouldn’t hear it as anything other than sexual - I have to think to remember there are other ways that could be taken. Whenever someone types they’ve been “balling” instead of “bawling”, well, it’s going to lead to some mental giggles at the least. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/34 "2013-10-18T11:26:55Z")
35 years old, learnt most of my English in Britain and Ireland. Never ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/35 "2013-10-18T11:33:41Z")
38 year old black male. I’m aware of the sexual use of ‘balling’ but, in my mind, it’s a hazy distant secondary meaning. When I hear ‘balling’ I think of someone being an excellent (ball game) athlete or someone bragging about their awesome accomplishments. Sexual ‘balling’ is something I’d associate with 80s teen romp comedies. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/36 "2013-10-18T11:35:33Z")
[Urban Dictionary](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=balling) **2. balling** 1. To be exceedingly fly, hip, deck, cool, what have you. 2. To clench or to curl up. 3. To engage in sexual intercourse. 4. _Reezy’s new grill was exceptionally balling, even by the standards of his affluent homies._ 5. _John balled his fist in rage as he walked in on Ken nailing his woman._ 6. J_udy and Derek have been balling for a few months. Explains why they keep showing up late to class._ **3. Balling** The smearing of cocaine on the genitals prior to intercourse, the drug being absorbed through the membranes. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/37 "2013-10-18T12:19:22Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I think you are confusing Little Richard’s _Lucille_ with his _Good Golly Miss Molly_. The former does not contain the word “ball”, the latter does: > Good Golly Miss Molly! > You sure like to ball. > When you’re rockin’ and a-rolling, > Can’t you hear your mamma call? > However, although the sexual meaning of “ball” certainly fits here, I am not entirely convinced that it was intended (at least, not unambiguously). In this case “ball” might just mean something like “party”. This fits better with the rocking and rolling (although that may once have meant having sex, too). The song is from 1958, though. My feeling is that “ball” came into popular use to mean “have sex” a bit later, in the '60s sometime, probably with the hippies. Let’s be clear: Little Richard _meant_ sex, but since it was hidden in slang, could wink about it. Same as it ever was - look at Miley Cyrus claiming that references to “Molly” do NOT mean drugs - it’s just a weird pronunciation of her name. Yeah - let’s go with that 😉 I am so freakin’ old. I mean, yes of course Baller is used more now as a person who’s got game (originally in basketball, but can be used in other areas), but I assumed folks still understood the sexual connotation - which was _part of its appeal_. Now folks are going to post to this thread and say that they thought _ **Gang Bangers** _ only refers to members of a gang out looking for trouble ;)😛 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/38 "2013-10-18T12:28:12Z")
I was aware of it but it’s rarely used that way anymore. I also knew about the “hidden” meaning in Good Golly Miss Molly and, of course, the explicit use in the Grateful Dead’s Loose Lucy. _Loose Lucy was my delight She shows up and we ball all night_ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/39 "2013-10-18T12:51:49Z")
Aware of the meaning, and also that it was obsolete slang. Hardly seen it in print in that sense since the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539/40 "2013-10-18T12:53:03Z")
The OED dates it from 1955, though, as with all terms for sex, it probably was used earlier. It was commonly known in the 60s and 70s (I recall someone saying he expected to be “bald by 30” and we all joked “one at a time, or all together?”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-aware-of-the-used-of-the-term-balling-to-mean-having-sex/671539.md?page=3)