Okay. I’m in the midst of a flirty e-discussion with a female I find attractive. We met fleetingly, and have not seen each other since, but we’ve exchanged a few teasing emails. She may be coming to town this weekend, and we may finally get together in person.
In our recent round of e-notes, I reminder her of how sexy I find short hair on women. (She has very short hair.) She said that someone told her that “clean men like short hair.” Then she asked, “Are you a clean man?”
She means “clean” literally, right? As in, I bathe every day and wear laundered clothes?
Or is she implying some double-entendre meaning that I’m not familiar with? (I know that being “clean” also means not being hooked on drugs and booze, but I know that’s not what she meant.)
God help me, the first thing I thought of was, are you circumcised. I’m not saying I think uncircumcised men are unclean, but for some reason that’s where my mind went.
Then I thought, maybe she means clean as in clean-shaven… you know, down there. But what on earth does either of those have to do with liking women with short hair?
So I’ve settled on something like your “bathe every day and wear laundered clothes” or SP2263’s “neat and tidy.”
In any case, that’s how I’d play it in my response to her. “Why yes, I bathe every day and keep my apartment neat and tidy.” That’s important to a lot of women. If she meant something else she can ask you again. But if she didn’t and you assume she did… yeesh.
In the possibility of a double meaning, my brain went to “clean” being “you don’t have any STDs, do you?”
Yes, it could also mean “no drugs”. Or “clean shaven”. Or “doesn’t want dirty sex.”
I’d go with TWDuke’s response. Especially if you can keep it flirty and allow it to seem safe for her to say, “Ah, I expected that, but are you clean with regards to X?”
For cryin’ out loud, she could be asking if you have any pets. Too many weird things.
You could ask who told her that. If you think it’d give you any hints.
Considering the flirtatious nature of your emails a double-entendre is almost a given. Were I in a position to I would make a substantial bet to that effect.
The problem of course lies in what alternate meaning she had in mind, therefore your post.
Play it safe and respond with an “Absolutely! Have you any doubts?”
Unless the answer is “yes” to every conceivable meaning, I think you should do something radical like respond: “Clean in what way? I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at since there are a few possibilities that spring to mind. I wouldn’t want to give you the wrong impression by trying to save face by answering anyway.”
Could mean anything, especially in the context of a flirtatious conversation:
Responding with “I like short hair but I’m a dirty man” could come across as “I have no personal hygiene and stink like a goat” or “I’m lusty and wicked in a delightful way”.
Given the context, it does seem she’s using the word in something other than the literal meaning. But the most common sexual slang meanings for clean are not having any communicable diseases and not being a drug user. Neither of these seem to fit the context either. So I’m guessing she used clean to refer to some unknown physical attribute or sexual practice (shaved head? shaved pubes? likes to have sex in the bathtub?). I agree with elfkin, if you’re not sure, ask her and avoid any misunderstandings later.
