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Rubber johnny

Posted by ESC on June 24, 2000

In Reply to: Rubber johnny posted by denzil thomas on June 23, 2000

: sad I know, but despite some illuminated suggestions I still have no idea where this term came from. help?

RUBBER JOHNNY - "The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang" by Tony Thorne (Pantheon Books, New York, 1990) says: "rubber, rubber johnny n. - a condom. The first version is international English. The second is British. Johnnie, Johnny and Johnny-bag are synonyms."

The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang by John Ayto and John Simpson (Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, 1992) says the term "rubber johnny" dates back to 1980.

"British English A to Zed" by Norman W. Schur (HarperCollins, New York, 1987) says "johnny" is a term for "guy." I think the terms "rubber johnny" and "johnny" have their roots in the slang term "johnny" for "guy."

And that's all I know about that.

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