Sunday, March 10, 2013

Gamahouche

Gamahouche or gamahuche.   I came across this archaic term in, unlikely though it is, a modern urban murder mystery by highly lauded novelist Lawrence Block (in Burglars Can't Be Choosers, 1977).

It seems to be a Victorian term for cunniligus:
I was sliding the final drawer back in the desk when Ray asked, "What the hell does gamahouche mean?"
I made him spell it, then took the book away from him and looked for myself.  "I think it means to go down on a girl," I said.

I find it on the web at this Fark discussion, the Urban Dictionary of all things (it's usually a source for invented silliness or poorly written insults), the Wiktionary, and this rather steamy Victorian novel.

I shall endeavor to insert this word (heh heh) into modern parlance as often as mores allow.

Its etymology is unclear.

1 comment:

  1. I just re-read "Burglars can't be choosers" and tripped over the word "game-houche" myself. On looking it up, I discovered your blogpost. Now, I, too, will be trying to insert the word into normal conversation

    ReplyDelete

faire gaffe - watch out, be careful

Faut faire gaffe quand on traverse, à ne pas se faire écraser par un vélo. Be careful crossing, or you'll be run over by a bike.