# Daisy Chain - does that still mean what I think it means? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2006, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423 "2006-08-12T07:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/21 "2006-08-12T14:48:10Z")
[QUOTE=Neidhart] I thought it referred to men, each one buggering the fellow in front of him. [/QUOTE] That’s what I’ve heard too. I think I first read mention of it in the novel _LA Confidential._ ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/22 "2006-08-12T14:52:10Z")
In the early 60’s as a kid I first heard of the term and it related to a chain made from the flower. Lacking daisies, we made flower chains out of dandelions. When I hit adolescence in the late 60’s I heard the term used in a sexual orgy context, one of mixed gender. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/23 "2006-08-12T14:56:17Z")
whatever your favorite connotation is, Daisy Chain seems like a good name for a jewelery business. Flowers are pretty. And anybody who imagines the sexual side of it will be embarrassed at himself, and not say so out loud. But he sure will remember the brand name 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/24 "2006-08-12T15:35:13Z")
I’ve heard it used in a wide variety of contexts, any situation where similar things are linked together in a series. **CynicalGabe** ’s SCSI-device daisy chain, FireWire daisy chains, and ADB daisy chains on old Macs in the world of personal computing; towing a car that already has a trailer attached is a daisy chain; etc ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/25 "2006-08-12T15:42:02Z")
‘Daisy chain’ is used all the time in various technical fields to refer to connecting a group of objects in a chain rather than connecting each to a central point (the latter being referred to as ‘home runs’. Speakers, telephones, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/26 "2006-08-12T15:45:37Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] This is my understanding of the term as well. [/QUOTE] Well you’d have to be very well synchronised, I mean … !in..out…out…no in…in..out…oh sod it!! pun intended 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/27 "2006-08-12T15:54:48Z")
[QUOTE=Neidhart] I thought it referred to men, each one buggering the fellow in front of him. [/QUOTE] Perhaps I’m a little naive, but wouldn’t that end up being more of a daisy _pile_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/28 "2006-08-12T15:55:41Z")
[QUOTE=Baffle] Daisy chains are sexual, I only learned about actual flower chains six months ago. [/QUOTE] Where did you think the sexual act got its name? Isn’t that like not knowing that sixty-nine is a number? ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/29 "2006-08-12T16:07:29Z")
I’ve never heard it used as a sexual reference before. It was always the chain of flowers, and later, when I began beading, was one of the simpler beginner patterns for making a necklace or bracelet. They could get steadily more complicated, and sold like hotcakes. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/30 "2006-08-12T16:17:03Z")
Heh heh heh…you said _hotcakes._ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/31 "2006-08-12T16:23:10Z")
At the high school I graduated from, the Daisy Chain was the female equivilant of the Junior Ushers at graduation. They carried a chain of daisies, you see. Yes, every graduating class since 1896 has had fun with the name. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/32 "2006-08-12T16:24:21Z")
Count me in as an innocent lass, I guess, as I only thought of the flowers. And I am no innocent, by the way… strange. ---
**Author:** ![Carlyjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Carlyjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlyjay)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/33 "2006-08-12T16:28:17Z")
It seems to me that almost every phrase has some kind of secret sexual connotation. I’ve never heard of “Daisy Chain” meaning anything other than a chain of flowers. However, a few years ago I would have been stunned to hear the term “tossed salad” as meaning anything other than a dish made of lettuce and tomatoes and such. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/34 "2006-08-12T16:31:30Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] Perhaps I’m a little naive, but wouldn’t that end up being more of a daisy _pile_ ? [/QUOTE] Not if eveybody is on his knees or side. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/35 "2006-08-12T17:29:48Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] Miss Alice is a dirty, dirty girl. [/QUOTE] Yeppers. And yet still single. Odd, that. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/36 "2006-08-12T17:42:32Z")
[QUOTE=CynicalGabe] When I saw the thread title, I assumed you meant a chain of SCSI devices. [/QUOTE] Well, they may or may not be scuzzy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/37 "2006-08-12T17:53:38Z")
[QUOTE=alice\_in\_wonderland] Yeppers. And yet still single. Odd, that. [/QUOTE] I’ll bet you’re a really popular gal tho’ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/38 "2006-08-12T19:18:13Z")
I’ve only heard it as a way of wiring things, like phone jacks, together (or other electronic equipment) and from Brain Damage by Pink Floyd. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/39 "2006-08-12T19:26:36Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > When I saw the thread title, I assumed you meant a chain of SCSI devices. > [QUOTE=11811] > Well, they may or may not be scuzzy. 😉 [/quote] Why the heck did the computer industry decide that SCSI = scuzzy and not sexy? ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423/40 "2006-08-12T19:37:32Z")
I think of it as one of those things that has a primary meaning, but also a funny sexual meaning, like the aforementioned sixty-nine and pearl necklace. In addition to **silenus’s** high school, there’s another famous Daisy Chain of the lfower kind – Vassar\* has a Daisy Chain ceremony as part of their graduation. I’ve wondered if that’s part of the original joke, as it were – sort of a “heh, heh, they do a _Daisy Chain_ at Vassar” playing on the (rather tired, IMHO) sly wink about women’s colleges being a cover for XXX girl-on-girl action. \*co-ed now, of course, but having a long tradition of being a women’s college. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daisy-chain-does-that-still-mean-what-i-think-it-means/368423.md?page=3)