Ah, perverse sexual matters. You do realize that none of your examples indicate any kind of perversion, don’t you?
There’s a book called … damn, don’t remember what it’s called. It’s “[the something or other] of Sin” – slang on sex, drinking, gambling, etc. I have a copy at work – I’ll get the cite for you when I get there.
Every so often the History Channel does a “History of Sex” series which does include some references to outdated slang. It’s a lot of TV to watch just to pick up the slang, but it’s also fascinating of its own accord.
The book I was thinking of is “The Slang of Sex,” (duh!), by Tom Dalzell, Merriam Webster. I paid $4 as a remainder – making me, I guess, a cheap date.
Does anyone know what a “beezle” is? The context I heard it was in the movie “The Women.” Sylvia Fowler refers to Crystal Allen as a “beezle” then later refers to Miram Aarons as one.
Hmm, I swear I’ve seen this term in P. G. Wodehouse’s writing, but it didn’t have a derogatory meaning. I think it was just another term for a young woman.
(I thought at first I’d seen in it Raymond Chandler, but he uses other words like “frail” for a woman.)
Was rewatching Sullivan’s Travels and about 39 minutes into the movie they use the same word. Drove me crazy trying to figure out the meaning. Agree with the earlier post about “bitch” as the word refers to Veronica Lake as his sidekick.