# Sometimes it is better to feign ignorance

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-is-better-to-feign-ignorance/917992>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 13, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-is-better-to-feign-ignorance/917992 "2020-08-13T12:48:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-is-better-to-feign-ignorance/917992/21 "2020-08-14T12:48:32Z")

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> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Is it similar to pussy foot?

Oddly enough, this reminds me of the joke about the boy walking past an old man while the old man is sitting on a porch. The boy carries chicken wire on the first trip, Duck tape (yes, it’s a real brand of duct tape) on the second trip, and pussywillows on the third trip.

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**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-is-better-to-feign-ignorance/917992/22 "2020-08-14T13:01:40Z")

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> [@Monty](#):
>
> Duck tape (yes, it’s a real brand of duct tape)

What I heard is that the original name was duck tape. “Duck” is a kind of canvas-like fabric that was the original backing for the adhesive.

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**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-is-better-to-feign-ignorance/917992/23 "2020-08-14T13:10:58Z")

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My wife refused to allow me to score for either “Milf” or “Wilf” in a game of Boggle the other day, despite my explanation that she definitely qualified on both counts.

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**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-is-better-to-feign-ignorance/917992/24 "2020-08-14T15:22:21Z")

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> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> As long as we’re talking about the term, I’d like to do an informal survey of what a milf is.
> 
> Is it any woman who’s a mother? Or is it a woman who’s old enough to be your mother?
> 
> I’m old enough that there are plenty of women half my age who are mothers. It seems ridiculous for me to be calling them milfs.

Good question. I’ve always viewed it as someone that has a kid. Not someone old enough to be _your_ mother. It makes no sense to call a childless person of child-bearing years a milf, to me anyway.

I agree though, that old guys calling a 20 year old with a kid a milf is odd.

In “milf” porn, they’re generally just older women, and could as easily be called cougars.

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