Monday 11 January 2010

Cover-Slut


Flicking listlessly through my OED I came across the word cover-slut, which means "something worn to cover sluttishness, an apron or pinafore", a verbal corollary to the phrase All fur coat and no knickers. The Universal Dictionary of Science, Art, Literature and Practical Mechanics of 1829 puts it more alliteratively: "Cover-shame and cover-slut are contrivances to conceal infamy and sluttishness."  But judging by the magazine rack at my nearest Tesco Metro (etymologically Tesco mother), I feel the noun could usefully be reassigned.



A gallimaufry of cover-sluts

P.S. The only actual usage of cover-slut I was able to turn up comes from Hall's Ireland: Mr & Mrs Hall's Tour of 1840 and is too deliciously domineering not to reproduce in full.

The Irish cloak forms very graceful drapery; the material falls well and folds well. It is usually large enough to envelop the whole person ; and the hood is frequently drawn forward to shield the face of the wearer from sun, rain, or wind. Yet we would fain see its general use dispensed with. A female in the lower ranks of life cares but little for the other portions of her dress if she has 'a good cloak;' and certainly her ordinary appearance would be more thought of, if the huge 'cover-slut' were not always at hand to hide dilapidations in her other garments. ' Oh, then, I'm not fit to be seen; hadn't I better tidy myself a bit? — but aisy! sure when I throw on my cloak no one will know what I am,' is a too frequent observation; and away they go, shrouded from head to foot in this woollen hide-all.

6 comments:

  1. I love the internal monologue here, how they forget about the cover-slut and then all of a sudden they think of it again and it turns out they were worrying needlessly all along.

    That's how it is with me and alot of objects like my credit cards- its like "how will I pay for this new farm animal?" and then "oh, I'll just put it on my card".

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  2. Was this just a clever way of improving your google page ranking by using the world 'slut' in you post? Love the word gallimaufry. Would hate to play you guys at scrabble!

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  3. Cover-slut is new to me, but i always thought the phrase "all fur coat and no knickers," which my mother often uses in reference to me, referred to keeping up appearances (often in terms of dress), while forsaking practicality. Hence my mother mocks my penchant for expensive shoes which I can't walk in and have to change into at the busstop as, having bankrupted myself to pay for them, i can't then afford a taxi. Either that, or unbeknownst to me, she has simply been calling me a slut all these years.

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  4. No, but I was happy to see that Albigensian Donkey Sex got us a big haul in the pervert category. My favourite was the guy back in November who came to us after searching for "inky sex", I haven't been able to sleep since. There's also somebody who keeps searching for "who is the inky fool", to which the answer is the temporarily busy Mrs Malaprop (she chews on fountain pens).

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  5. If this is the case, Miss Runcible, why have I never seen you in a fur coat? The imagination shivers.

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  6. I have one! However, it only goes down to my waist so not possible to demonstrate the phrase wholeheartedly.

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