Prithee…
I was in the parking lot of Panda Express in Pasadena today, just sitting in my car reading, waiting to get hungry. Three guys from a local high school pull up–they’ve got off campus lunch around there–and run into Panda. Minutes later they’re back, fast food in hand and arguing about who gets to sit in the front seat. The winner–I’ll call him ponytail–is listening to his friend complain about having to sit in back. Ponytail, tiring of his buddy’s whining, exclaims, “God, man, quit being such a strumpet!”
Kids these days. Resorting to Shakespearean era slang to insult one another. I”m gonna have to get used to this. Next time I hear some kid tease his friend by saying, “Prithee, kind sir, buy why hast thou such a diminutive codpiece?” I’ll try not to look surprised. First gangster rap and now this. A pox on both your strumpets!
November 17th, 2005 at 7:05 am
This story is even funnier if you look up what a strumpet is.
November 17th, 2005 at 10:00 am
I know. The thing is, I’m wondering if they know. And if they do, how on earth did this word arrive in their vernacular?
November 17th, 2005 at 3:39 pm
I did a little searching. Found this on a website about Othello…
“He calls her a strumpet and takes her into custody.”
Othello sounds like something High School kids might have to read. Maybe it was a bold word that was defined at the bottom of the page.
November 17th, 2005 at 6:04 pm
strumpet
NOUN: A woman who engages in sexual intercourse for payment: bawd, call girl, camp follower, courtesan, harlot, prostitute, scarlet woman, streetwalker, tart2, whore. Slang : hooker, moll. Idioms: lady of easy virtue, lady of pleasure, lady of the night. See SEX.
Hmmmmm. Yeah, I’ll just leave that alone.