>
> Sounds, good Leland, but still does not explain BOTH merkins described in
my
> dictionary. One for the protective device, one for the sacred anatomy
that has
> confounded mankind since the original ribbing.

For those of us who have not yet gotten to the bottom of it, as Ken
implies, "merkin" is an obsolete term for the pudendum, or external female
genitalia (pudendum/a, from the Latin pudere-to be ashamed- sorry about
that!). It also means female pubic hair, and, oddly, false female pubic
hair (can anyone explain that?). All of which puts an interesting twist on
some of the posts to this thread. AND, it can be construed into the , dare
I say appropriate, anagram irk men.

It is also a variant for one of the uses of "malkin", another truly
interesting word; specifically "a  joint staff sponge for cleaning out a
piece of ordinance". It is also the last name of one of the New Yorker film
critics, Daphne Merkin, who, it is hoped, did not go to Junior High School
with anyone precocious enough to know to abuse her for her name.

Some other meanings of malkin, by the way: A female personal name, usually
of the lower classes; the proper name of a female spectre or demon; an
untidy female, slut, slattern or loose woman; a mop or bundle of rags, esp.
that used to clean out a baker's oven, a scarecrow, and a hare, in Scottish
and North of England dialect.

I love dictionaries!

Bruce