A well turned calf

Posted by Smokey Stover on October 18, 2005

In Reply to: A well turned calf posted by Smokey Stover on October 18, 2005

: : : Can anyone tell where the phrase 'A well turned calf' comes from?

: : I don't know who said it first. Well-turned = symmetrically shaped or rounded. Calf = the fleshy back part of the leg below the knee. (Merriam-Webster online)

: I think it came from someone who forgot that the classic phrase is "a well-turned ankle." SS

Although "well-turned calf" is a choice. OED: " 2. Of the body or limbs: Symmetrically shaped or rounded. [citations:] 1616 B. JONSON Devil an a** II. vi, To play with this smooth, round, And well torn'd chin, as with the Billyard ball.... 1693 DRYDEN Ovid's Met. I. 670 Her well-turn'd Neck he view'd. 1728 RAMSAY Bonny Kate iv, How straight, how well-turn'd and genteel, are Her limbs! 1835 W. IRVING Tour Prairies 29 They are a well-made race,..with well-turned thighs and legs. 1886 J. CORBETT Fall of Asgard ii. 66 Her well-turned form, so girlish and dainty still."

• A well turned calf Victoria S Dennis 18/October/05
  • A well turned calf Li Yar 20/October/05
    • A well turned calf Victoria S Dennis 20/October/05