First let me say that the assumed secondary meaning is not “profane” within the main accepted definition of profane which would be irreligious or disrespectful of religion. “Goddamnit” is profane, “Oh, my effin’ balls.” is not.
“Cock” is a word commonly used in plumbing and other applications - one opens or closes a cock. Motorcycles are equipped with fuel petcocks.
No, I do not snigger when using words that may have more than one meaning, but I realize it can happen.
That’s why I keep a jar of Carribean Cock Flavored seasoning on my desk, to test the immaturity of my co-workers.
It’s not an euphemism at all, it’s a term for a woman with a big ass (if said in an appreciative way: it can also mean a woman whose excessive weight makes her unattractive); also, it can be paired with bull to refer to whether someone likes oysters or snails.
There is a (nearly 100 years old) story in my family about a great aunt of mine who at the Christmas pageant was asked to say the line: The ass stuck his head out of his stall and brayed.
She didn’t want to say that word and was told donkey was a good substitute. But she got flustered and wound up saying: “The donkey stuck his ass out of the stall and brayed.”
My understanding, perhaps incorrect, is that the F word was old Anglo Saxon for planting seed. I’ve never tried to confirm that since it’s such a nice innocent origin I prefer to just believe it.
In my workplace, I often have to write about when some project will be finished, will come available, etc. The Dutch expression for that used to be: “het zal klaar komen op datum x” (it will come (ready) on date x). But since “klaar komen” now primarily means " to come" (sexually) that phrase isn’t usable anymore.
Does American English have the same problem with “getting off” as in getting off the bus, or getting off work?
I don’t think twice about using “getting off.” The sexual meaning of it doesn’t immediately occur to me unless I’m cracking wise with someone like Beavis and Butt-head.
But it doesn’t refer to the breasts, which have both “clean” and “dirty” names, but to the whole woman. And there’s nothing euphemistic about lines such as “that’s a cow I wouldn’t mind milking” - it’s as dirty and impolite as it gets, the opposite of an euphemism.
