🚀 go-pugleaf

According to [1, pp. 161]:

``The degree of synonymy (or near synonymy) in the vocabulary for genitalia
and copulation has no parallel elsewhere in the English lexicon -- except in
the terms for `whore.' There are reportedly more than 1,200 terms for `vagina'
and more than 1,000 for `penis' (with or without testicles), 800 for
copulation, and 2,000 for whore...'

The article goes on to explore instances of synonymy and non-synonymy between
terms, e.g. ``twat'' and ``cunt'' are synonymous in

(1) Your twat needs a wash.
(2) Your cunt needs a wash.

In fact, ``twat'' and ``prick'' can even be synonymous in certain cases:

(3) You twat!
(4) You prick!

However, in such cases the ``euphemisms'' are not synonymous with the
terms of which they are normally considered euphemisms.

(5*) You vagina!
(6*) You penis!

This is a fascinating article which finishes by presenting a schema (or
algorithm) for determining the intended denotation of `vagina', `twat',
`cunt', and `prick'. It just goes to show that synonymous terms can 
exist in language, although it says something about the circumstances
in which this can occur.

[1] Allen, Keith (1990) ``Some English terms of insult invoking sex
organs: evidence of a pragmatic driver for semantics'' In S. Tsohatzidis
(ed.), ``Meanings and Prototypes, Studies in linguistic categorization,''
pp. 159--194.


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