On 22/10/23 00:04, Jerry Friedman wrote:

> By the way, in the U.S., "masseuse" often rhymes with "moose" and
> "loose", and I've heard it used to refer to a man.

Years ago, second-generation Italians in Australia started using "bimbo"
as a /feminine/ noun. I suspect they got it from the popular song "Ma
bella bimba".

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

On Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 7:44:14 PM UTC+5:30, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 9:04:40 AM UTC-4, Jerry Friedman wrote:
> > On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 4:00:31 AM UTC-6, Paul Carmichael wrote:
> > > El Sat, 21 Oct 2023 11:19:20 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden escribió:
>
> > > > Within the past week or so there was a post about whether "masseuse" for
> > > > a woman masseur was a new coinage.
> > > I think I've heard the feminine version used to mean lady of the night
> > > aka "hooer".
> >
> > Specifically one who works in a brothel disguised as a "massage parlor"..
> >
> > By the way, in the U.S., "masseuse" often rhymes with "moose" and
> > "loose", and I've heard it used to refer to a man.
>
> Compare "shantoozy" for the lady who sings in the saloon/dance hall.
>
> Similar origin for "floozy," maybe?
>
Shantoozy could be posited to come from Chanteuse (which, incidentally,
I played recently to win a Scrabble game). Regardless of whether that would
be correctly posited, such an origin for floozy or doozy cannot even be
posited.

Paul Carmichael wrote:
> > > My masseuse is married with a small child.

Silvano (Italian residing in Berlin) asked:
> > Is that legal in your country?

Paul Carmichael wrote (paraphrased):
> To is illegal. With is legal since motherhood is legal.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdu8VOWk3pg

I exclaim:
Prepositions confuse foreigners!
Foreigners also use prepositions in unusual ways.
A Greek TA monitoring a computer lab asked me:
Will you still need the lab BY 6pm?

On Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 9:42:30 PM UTC-4, Dingbat wrote:
> On Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 7:44:14 PM UTC+5:30, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> > On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 9:04:40 AM UTC-4, Jerry Friedman wrote:
> > > On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 4:00:31 AM UTC-6, Paul Carmichael wrote:
> > > > El Sat, 21 Oct 2023 11:19:20 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden escribió:
> >
> > > > > Within the past week or so there was a post about whether "masseuse" for
> > > > > a woman masseur was a new coinage.
> > > > I think I've heard the feminine version used to mean lady of the night
> > > > aka "hooer".
> > >
> > > Specifically one who works in a brothel disguised as a "massage parlor".
> > >
> > > By the way, in the U.S., "masseuse" often rhymes with "moose" and
> > > "loose", and I've heard it used to refer to a man.
> >
> > Compare "shantoozy" for the lady who sings in the saloon/dance hall.
> >
> > Similar origin for "floozy," maybe?
> >
> Shantoozy could be posited to come from Chanteuse (which, incidentally,

Duh. That was my point.

> I played recently to win a Scrabble game). Regardless of whether that would
> be correctly posited, such an origin for floozy or doozy cannot even be
> posited.

Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com> writes:
> El Sun, 22 Oct 2023 11:02:48 +0200, Silvano escribió:
>> Paul Carmichael hat am 22.10.2023 um 09:49 geschrieben:
>>> My masseuse is married with a small child.
>>
>> Is it legal in your country?
>> SCNR
>
> With. Not to.

A decade ago I caused some confusion when I used to refer to
"my girlfriend of fifteen years".

Phil
--
We are no longer hunters and nomads. No longer awed and frightened, as we have
gained some understanding of the world in which we live. As such, we can cast
aside childish remnants from the dawn of our civilization.
-- NotSanguine on SoylentNews, after Eugen Weber in /The Western Tradition/