Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Word for the Day -- Coverslut

Yes, ok, mildly salacious, I know.  But in fact, a coverslut is ": an outer garment worn to conceal untidy clothes."  It comes from the obvious sense of "cover" combined with an older, mostly now unused sense of slut that meant simply "a careless or untidy woman"-- still certainly not complimentary, but much tamer than the contemporary connotations would suggest.  The OED actually includes "apron" as a defining synonym.

2 comments:

  1. You mean it's not when your wife Bogart's all the covers?

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    Replies
    1. Um... no. Also, I'm docking you three points for improper apostrophization.

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