Bruce,
You too should join the Dictionary Society of America.  Cleveland State
University. e-mail: [log in to unmask]  They publish "Dictionaries".
You might also be interested in  "Verbatim, the language quarterly"
1-800-999-2266.  You will also need a basic word wheel.  Are you familiar
with a Panopticon?
Best,
Leland
-----Original Message-----
From: sbmarcus <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
<[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, June 14, 1998 1:25 AM
Subject: Re: First Wythe, now "merkin"


>>
>> 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