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Derivations of some interesting words and phrases.
The vagina or an unpleasant person.
A word which has been in general use since the 1600s and derived either from the Old Norse 'thveit' or the English 'twachylle', a passage. Interestingly, the word occupies a special place in literary lore in that it serves as a salutory reminder to all never to use a word until sure of its proper meaning. In 'Vanity of Vanities', a poem of 1660, there appear the lines 'They talk't of his having a Cardinal's hat/They'd sent him as soon an Old Nun's Twat.' . Here, 'nun' is the old synonym for a prostitute,so Shakespeare's 'get thee to a nunnery' does not instruct the lady to take holy vows. Having read this work Robert Browning was left with the impression that 'twat' was an alternative term for a nun's wimple and so included the word in his Pippa Passes (1841) -- 'The owls and bats/Cowls and Twats/Monks and nuns/In a cloister's mood.' Needless to say, he was mortified when he discovered the actual meaning.
The Dictionary of Modern Phrase
The vagina or an unpleasant person.
A word which has been in general use since the 1600s and derived either from the Old Norse 'thveit' or the English 'twachylle', a passage. Interestingly, the word occupies a special place in literary lore in that it serves as a salutory reminder to all never to use a word until sure of its proper meaning. In 'Vanity of Vanities', a poem of 1660, there appear the lines 'They talk't of his having a Cardinal's hat/They'd sent him as soon an Old Nun's Twat.' . Here, 'nun' is the old synonym for a prostitute,so Shakespeare's 'get thee to a nunnery' does not instruct the lady to take holy vows. Having read this work Robert Browning was left with the impression that 'twat' was an alternative term for a nun's wimple and so included the word in his Pippa Passes (1841) -- 'The owls and bats/Cowls and Twats/Monks and nuns/In a cloister's mood.' Needless to say, he was mortified when he discovered the actual meaning.
The Dictionary of Modern Phrase
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