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Americans are using 'shag' to mean 'date'?

Posted by Word Camel on April 28, 2003

In Reply to: Shag like a Mink posted by TheFallen on April 28, 2003

: : : Does anyone know why we use the saying "he/she would shag like a minx"?

: : : Minx is another name for the Mink (ala mink coat), but Im not sure whats so special about their mating habits to liken them to someone who would be "horny" in bed. The male minx mates with several females in the mating season, so maybe thats why.

: :
: : : Any ideas?

: : 'Minx' has nothing to do with 'minks'. It's just a word for a special sort of woman, not neccessarily bad or of bad habits, but perhaps a bit flirtaceous; saucy. There used to be a car called a 'Hillman Minx'.
: : 'Shag', for our US cousins, is UK English for sexual intercourse and not, as in the US, for a 'date'!

: James is entirely right. The expression is "to **** like a mink" (insert your preferred four letter vulgarism for the sexual act, since there are several variants of the phrase). I imagine that the original poster may also be right in his guess that minks are sexually voracious, thus giving rise to the expression. I wonder if the OP's confusion regarding "minx" arose because he heard the phrase used in the plural - "they were shagging like minks"?

Surely not? Who? Where? I am aghast.

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