# How long has the term 'weinie' been in use? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-the-term-weinie-been-in-use/945002 "2021-06-25T12:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-the-term-weinie-been-in-use/945002/1 "2021-06-25T12:38:07Z")
Meaning ‘wimp’ or other non-macho put-down. I’m writing something set in 1963, and can’t quite figure out if the term was in general circulation. If not, what would have been the term of art in 1963? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-the-term-weinie-been-in-use/945002/2 "2021-06-25T12:42:50Z")
According to etymonline, it is attested as slang from — wait for it — 1963: > **[weenie | Etymology of weenie by etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/weenie#etymonline_v_4890)** > > "frankfurter," 1906, with slang sense of "penis" following soon after, from German… See origin and meaning of weenie. > Meaning “ineffectual person, effeminate young man” is slang from 1963; pejorative sense via penis shape, or perhaps from weenie in the sense of “small” (see [wee](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wee?ref=etymonline_crossreference)). Often, the earliest cite of a word means it had already been around for a year or two or so before it wound up in print. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-the-term-weinie-been-in-use/945002/3 "2021-06-25T14:07:16Z")
FWIW, the way ‘weinie’ is spelled in the title, it would be pronounced ‘winey’. As pulykamell’s link points out, ‘weenie’ is short for ‘frankfurter’. In America, ‘frankfurters’ and ‘wieners’ are the same thing. According to [this page](https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/12-things-you-didn-t-know-about-hot-dogs-slideshow/slide-3): > Head to an authentic German sausage shop and you’ll see two different sausages: wieners and frankfurters. Frankfurters are made entirely with pork, and wieners are a mixture of pork and beef. And as the names might imply, frankfurters originated in **[Frankfurt](http://www.thedailymeal.com/sandwich-week-beef-frankfurter-metzgerei-schreiber-frankfurt)** and wieners from Vienna. To make things even more confusing: in the U.S., “franks” tend to be all beef. The German name for Vienna is Wien; hence, Wiener Würstchen. So if you’re talking about a hot dog, the spelling would be ‘wienie’. There’s a hot dog place in Bellingham called Neiner Neiner Weiner. I always pronounce it ‘Niner Niner Whiner’. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-the-term-weinie-been-in-use/945002/4 "2021-06-25T15:37:12Z")
George Lucas used it in American Graffiti(73’) which was supposed to be set in the summer of 62’ ---
**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:** [June 25, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-the-term-weinie-been-in-use/945002/5 "2021-06-25T16:02:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > FWIW, the way ‘weinie’ is spelled in the title, it would be pronounced ‘winey’ Thank you! It drives me crazy when people spell it with an “ei,” which, in Germanic words, is always pronounced with a long I sound. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-has-the-term-weinie-been-in-use/945002/6 "2021-06-25T16:49:21Z")
[![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/4GHLUrY.jpeg "Do I really want to eat at a place that can") ](https://imgur.com/4GHLUrY)