# "Just put your lips together and blow." **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216 "2019-11-30T23:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/1 "2019-11-30T23:56:32Z")
Just watched the original and the released versions of The Big Sleep. So I went back and watched To Have and Have Not. So that is one of the most famous lines in movie history, and I’ve always heard it described as a double entendre. But I’ve never understood why. If it were a guy saying it to another guy, it would be obvious, blow job double entendre. But of course, you don’t actually blow giving a blow job (Chevy Chase one time on Weekend Update), so maybe it is a cunnilingus reference. Now these double entendre’s I get Vivian: Tell me: What do you usually do when you’re not working? Marlowe: Oh, play the horses, fool around. Vivian: No women? Marlowe: I’m generally working on something most of the time. Vivian: Could that be stretched to include me? Marlowe: Well I like you. I’ve told you that before. Vivian: I like hearing you say it. But you didn’t do much about it. Marlowe: Well, neither did you. Vivian: Well, speaking of horses, I like to play them myself. But I like to see them work out a little first, see if they’re front-runners or come from behind, find out what their hole-card is. What makes them run. Marlowe: Find out mine? Vivian: I think so. Marlowe: Go ahead. Vivian: I’d say you don’t like to be rated. You like to get out in front, open up a lead, take a little breather in the backstretch, and then come home free. Marlowe: You don’t like to be rated yourself. Vivian: I haven’t met anyone yet that can do it. Any suggestions? Marlowe: Well, I can’t tell till I’ve seen you over a distance of ground. You’ve got a touch of class, but, uh…I don’t know how - how far you can go. Vivian: A lot depends on who’s in the saddle. Go ahead Marlowe, I like the way you work. In case you don’t know it, you’re doing all right. Marlowe: There’s one thing I can’t figure out. Vivian: What makes me run? Marlowe: Uh-huh. Vivian: I’ll give you a little hint. Sugar won’t work. It’s been tried. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/2 "2019-12-01T00:42:32Z")
I’m glad you asked. I don’t get it, either. What’s up with it? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/3 "2019-12-01T00:48:04Z")
I think it’s just one of those expressions that \*sounds \*dirty (given the way she said it) but really isn’t. That’s all I got. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/4 "2019-12-01T00:56:00Z")
It’s Lauren Bacall in 1944. She could read the phone book and it would be an entendre. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/5 "2019-12-01T01:14:31Z")
I always thought it had to do with the puckering of the lips, like a kiss. Which, at the time, was pretty dirty I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/6 "2019-12-01T02:01:21Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s Lauren Bacall in 1944. She could read the phone book and it would be an entendre. I think we get that, but I have always understood that there is a double entendre or some kind of meaning in what she said. I’ve never understood what it could be. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/7 "2019-12-01T02:14:41Z")
I thnk ASL is right. It’s single-entendre. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/8 "2019-12-01T02:19:35Z")
I’ve always taken it a a reference to I’m at your beck and call. Similar to the “call me” gesture today. Basically a booty call! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/9 "2019-12-01T02:24:45Z")
It’s not supposed to be a double entendre. It’s just sexy talk. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/10 "2019-12-01T02:31:10Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > So that is one of the most famous lines in movie history, and I’ve always heard it described as a double entendre. But I’ve never understood why. If it were a guy saying it to another guy, it would be obvious, blow job double entendre. But of course, you don’t actually blow giving a blow job (Chevy Chase one time on Weekend Update), so maybe it is a cunnilingus reference. I think she’s saying “I know how to give a BJ, and this is how it’s done.” With “blow” being in the figurative sense. On the other hand, I suppose a man could gently blow into/onto the woman’s genitals during cunnilingus. So I guess it works both ways. Either way (or neither way), yeah, it does sound dirty. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/11 "2019-12-01T02:55:43Z")
I don’t think it’s meant as a double entendre directly. Look at the full quote: > [@](#): > > You know you don’t have to act with me, Steve. You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and… blow. She’s saying " If you want me, just give me a signal." ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/12 "2019-12-01T06:33:29Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I think it’s just one of those expressions that \*sounds \*dirty (given the way she said it) but really isn’t. That’s all I got. I think you nailed it. Nailed it,get it? And what the hell does “peel me a grape” mean? ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/13 "2019-12-01T07:03:13Z")
“Peel me a grape” = treat me like a queen, pamper me I don’t know where I first saw it, but I’m picturing an ancient Roman scene where a slave is peeling a grape and feeding it to the Queen. Growing up in the 60’s, table grape skins were much tougher and bitter, and I’m not sure seedless grapes were even available. Selective breeding (is that the right term?) made the skins thinner and the seeds in seedless grapes smaller. People (parents and those caring for the elderly, probably even now) would peel grapes and split them to remove the seeds to prevent choking on the skin and seeds. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/14 "2019-12-01T07:09:20Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > “Peel me a grape” = treat me like a queen, pamper me > > I don’t know where I first saw it, but I’m picturing an ancient Roman scene where a slave is peeling a grape and feeding it to the Queen. Stony Curtis in _ **Slave Boy** _?\* :dubious: \*Flintstones reference. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/15 "2019-12-01T07:36:56Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > “Peel me a grape” = treat me like a queen, pamper me > > I don’t know where I first saw it… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FeRm1T9V5wc/hqdefault.jpg "Oh Beulah, peel me a grape.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeRm1T9V5wc) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/16 "2019-12-01T11:06:48Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > On the other hand, I suppose a man could gently blow into/onto the woman’s genitals during cunnilingus. So I guess it works both ways. I’ve always heard that’s dangerous, at least for pregnant women. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/17 "2019-12-01T11:39:10Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I’ve always heard that’s dangerous, at least for pregnant women. I said _gently_, not like playing the trombone! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/18 "2019-12-01T17:29:22Z")
[quote=“Dropo, post:15, topic:844216”] [/QUOTE] The clip doesn’t really show the context. Mae West has just been confronted by the girlfriend of one of the men she was sleeping with, who basically calls West’s character a whore. She kicks the girlfriend out and then says the line, implying that a single grape would suffice to sooth her feelings. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/19 "2019-12-01T17:39:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > On the other hand, I suppose a man could gently blow into/onto the woman’s genitals during cunnilingus. So I guess it works both ways. Not a good idea. If the women were pregnant,[it could cause an air embolism and kill her.](https://jezebel.com/warning-cunnilingus-can-kill-5785472) And now, I’ve waited 40 years to tell this story, and finally have the chance: I was reading a _National Lampoon_ story and it had the joke that you could blow into the vagina and have the woman fly around the room like a balloon. My wife and I were talking about that, and agreed that, NatLamp joke notwithstanding, it could be very dangerous to the woman if air got into her bloodstream that way. She nodded and said, “That’s how my brother-in-law killed his dog.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216/20 "2019-12-01T17:50:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The clip doesn’t really show the context. Mae West has just been confronted by the girlfriend of one of the men she was sleeping with, who basically calls West’s character a whore. She kicks the girlfriend out and then says the line, implying that a single grape would suffice to sooth her feelings. I figured her implication was that her feelings would be soothed by nothing less than him performing such a pointless PITA service just because she was struck by a whim to demand it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-put-your-lips-together-and-blow/844216.md?page=2)