# How long has "shag" been a vulgar term? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2001, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954 "2001-04-23T02:46:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/1 "2001-04-23T02:46:18Z")
At least in England. Because I’m reading “Lord of the Rings” and there’s an orc in there named Shagrat. Brings a rather disturbing image to mind, but oddly appropriate for an orc. ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/2 "2001-04-23T03:00:53Z")
I’m in Australia and it’s been a euphemism for having sex throught the whole of my lifetime (I’m in my 40s). ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/3 "2001-04-23T03:23:17Z")
“Shag” has been vulgar since someone applied it to the long, ugly, 70’s yellow/orange/green carpet popular 30 years ago. :D:D ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/4 "2001-04-23T03:43:39Z")
[This](http://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-sha2.htm) site may help. Until _Lighter_ comes out with Vol. III of _American Slang_ I have to rely on sites such as this. But these guys are the current authorities. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/5 "2001-04-23T09:19:26Z")
And it isn’t _that_ vulgar anymore these days. I hear it on BBV television all the time, which means QE2 herself has approved it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/6 "2001-04-23T09:42:07Z")
Yep, definitely less vulgar these days although I’m not sure it ever was too nasty. A small notch up from ‘bonk’. Probably was a time when ‘bugger’, ‘bloody’ (origin ? maybe menstrual cycles ?) and ‘bollocks’ were more cutting edge profanity – all rather tame now and very tea-time telly. Even ‘slapper’ ( as in ‘of easy virtue’) has become a term of endearment. Still always new ones just around the corner! 🙂 ---
**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:** [April 23, 2001, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/7 "2001-04-23T09:56:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > Yep, definitely less vulgar these days although I’m not sure it ever was too nasty. A small notch up from ‘bonk’. Does **anyone** use the word ‘bonk’ these days other than Jilly Cooper? > [@](#): > > Probably was a time when ‘bugger’, ‘bloody’ (origin ? maybe menstrual cycles ?) and ‘bollocks’ were more cutting edge profanity – all rather tame now and very tea-time telly. I’ve heard that ‘bloody’ is an abbreviation of “by our Lady”; however, that may well be apocryphal. And in America it’s so inoffensive it’s virtually quaint. > [@](#): > > Even ‘slapper’ ( as in ‘of easy virtue’) has become a term of endearment. Still always new ones just around the corner! 🙂 \*\* Well, there’s always “smeg” (a la Red Dwarf) or “feck” (a la Father Ted) or “tanj” (a la Harry Harrison). Or you can invent your own and try to get them into popular usage. And if that doesn’t satisfy you, then just _ **spack off, gomboy!** _ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/8 "2001-04-23T10:05:52Z")
Forgot to mention ‘shag’ as in loose, hand rolled tobacco – bit of a schlep to current sexual usage but beginning to wonder if maybe that has something to do with the origin ? Who uses ‘bonk’ ? – only polite, posh birds as far as I know. Girlie girl teenagers maybe ? ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/9 "2001-04-23T10:35:43Z")
According to the OED, it’s been in use since at least 1788, when it appeared in the _Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue_, with the definition “to copulate”. There is an earlier meaning, “to toss about” or “to shake or waggle”, which goes back to the 14th Century and appears in Wycliffe’s Bible. > [@](#): > > Who uses ‘bonk’ ? – only polite, posh birds as far as I know. Girlie girl teenagers maybe? Sadly, I don’t know any polite, posh birds; but isn’t “bonk” still a favourite with the Sunday tabloids (following abortive attempts by the Sun to replace it with “rumpty” two or three years ago)? ---
**Author:** ![Mousseduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@Mousseduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mousseduck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/10 "2001-04-23T13:10:19Z")
This is pretty irrelevant, but here (Australia) a shag is a type of cormorant. There’s even a saying, all alone like a shag on a rock, which confused an English friend of mine until I told him it was referring to a bird. ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/11 "2001-04-23T13:13:36Z")
In the moving buisness ‘shag’ is a term for carrying stuff in or out of the house. I never heard it used any other way until the Austin Powers movie. It probably started from this definition – v. tr. shagged, shag·ging, shags. 1. To chase and bring back; fetch. 2. Baseball. To chase and catch (fly balls) in practice. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2001, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/12 "2001-04-23T13:36:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mousseduck \* > \*\*This is pretty irrelevant, but here (Australia) a shag is a type of cormorant. There’s even a saying, all alone like a shag on a rock, which confused an English friend of mine until I told him it was referring to a bird. \*\* Speaking of “posh birds”? 🙂 Apart from the carpet, “shag” is (or was) the name of a particularly awful hairstyle and a dance from the 60’s. And a movie, named after the dance or the haircut; I forget. I’ve also heard the baseball usage, but not very often. And of course, there’s the various definitions of “shaggy” as well. ---
**Author:** ![ookpik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c68b51/32.png) [@ookpik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ookpik)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/13 "2001-04-23T14:50:22Z")
I recall in South Carolina (Myrtle Beach) in the late 70’s it was also the term for a dance style there. Probably pretty localized though. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2001, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/14 "2001-04-23T14:58:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ookpik \* > \*\*I recall in South Carolina (Myrtle Beach) in the late 70’s it was also the term for a dance style there. Probably pretty localized though. \*\* After a quick search, it looks like the [movie](http://www.epinions.com/mvie_mu-1018700) was about the dance. FYI. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/15 "2001-04-23T15:02:39Z")
The Shag is also the official state dance of South Carolina, and popular in the clubs in Myrtle Beach and elsewhere. I told some English friends who were heading there on a golf trip that the bars there had “Shagging Contests”, and they were giggling all night. ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/16 "2001-04-23T15:43:55Z")
Is that a joke or do US States really have official dances? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/17 "2001-04-23T16:09:32Z")
A woman called me once & asked me if I wanted to get shagged & I said no cause I didn’t know what the word meant. sigh. Still, one would wonder how they can have a film in the US with ‘shagged’ in the name. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/18 "2001-04-23T18:27:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TomH \* > \*\*Is that a joke or do US States really have official dances? \*\* Not a joke. The General Assembly by Act No. 329, 1984, designated the Shag as the official dance of South Carolina. States can have Official State whatevers so long as enough people can be convinced that it’s a good idea (or at least convinced that it isn’t a bad idea). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/19 "2001-04-23T18:32:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TomH \* > \*\*Is that a joke or do US States really have official dances? \*\* All states have the usual Official State Flower, Song, Flag, and so forth, but state legislatures can declare Official State Whatevers if it amuses them. In Massachusetts, for instance, we have the Official State Muffin (the Corn Muffin), Official State Construction, Explorer, and Historical Rock (Roxbury Puddingstone, Dighton Rock, and Plymouth Rock), and even Official State Seagoing Mammal (Humpback Whale). There’s a lot more. Our state legislators are clearly among the hardest-working anywhere. The Shag has some cultural significance in South Carolina, and that’s all it takes for such a bill to pass the Legislature. It doesn’t even take as much as that in many cases. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-shag-been-a-vulgar-term/62954/20 "2001-04-24T01:27:31Z")
So it looks like shag did mean f\*\*\* in the time period Tolkien was writing, and since he was a professor at Oxford, he probably knew what Shagrat implies. Makes me wonder what “Gorbag” means > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TomH \* > \*\*Is that a joke or do US States really have official dances? \*\* [Weird state symbols](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=62008)