Cornhole (sometimes corn hole) is a sexual slangvulgarism for the anus.[1] The term came into use in the 1910s in the United States.[2] Its verb form, to cornhole, which came into use in the 1930s, means 'to have anal sex'.[2][3]
By the middle of the 20th century, the term was used among American criminals.[6] According to a 1944 report on male-male prison rape, the term had taken on a more specific meaning of taking the penetrative role in anal sex.[7] It was also popularized in part through use in gay culture.[8][9]
In a similar context, a corn husk is a "condom", especially one manufactured for anal intercourse.[10]
According to linguist Jonathan Lighter, to cornhole and variant non-derived synonyms have developed as compound verbs: to corncob [1975] and to corndog [1985].[11] Linguists have noted the verb form as an example of possible compound verbs in English. There is debate whether such words are genuine compounds or pseudo-compounds.[12]
Cornholio, the alter ego of Beavis from Beavis and Butt-head, is a play on the word cornhole, as his catch phrase is “I am the Great Cornholio! I need TP for my bunghole!"[13][14] The personality of Cornholio, in turn, became inspiration for the cocktail called the "Flaming Cornholio".[15]
Comedian George Carlin performed a short skit about the word cornhole in his 2005 show "Life Is Worth Losing", praising it for being tough-sounding and thus more honest than politically correct terms like anal intercourse or anal rape. He elaborated on the word repeatedly in earlier shows, including a famous rant about the euphemism treadmill which caused the term shell shock to evolve into post-traumatic stress disorder. He then imagined its use in a forensic investigation scene of a police procedurals television series ("That there is a posthumous, multiple cornhole entry wound") and pointed out that "in prison it's a social activity".[16]
See also
Look up Cornhole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
^Munier, Alexis (2010).
The Big Black Book of Very Dirty Words. Adams Media, ISBN9781440509605
^ abGreen, Jonathon (2006). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang: A Major New Edition of the Market-Leading Dictionary of Slang. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., ISBN9780304366361
^Burke, David (2003). The Slangman Guide to Dirty English: Dangerous Expressions Americans Use Every Day. Slangman Publishing, ISBN9781891888236
^McConville, Brigid; Shearlaw, John (1984). The Slanguage of Sex. Macdonald, ISBN9780356103402
^Richter, Alan (1987). The Language of Sexuality. McFarland, ISBN9780899502458
^Monteleone, Vincent Joseph (1949). Criminal Slang: The Vernacular of the Underground Lingo. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., ISBN9781584773009
^Baker, Paul (2004). Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN9780826473431
^Reuter, Donald F. (2006). Gay-2-Zee: A Dictionary of Sex, Subtext, and the Sublime. Macmillan, ISBN9780312354275
^Victor/Dalzell eds (2007). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Psychology Press, ISBN9780415212595
^Lighter, Johnathan E. (1997). Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Vol. 2: H-O. Random House Reference, ISBN9780679434641
^Erdmann, Peter (1999). Compound verbs in English: are they pseudo? In Dekeyser Xavier; Tops, Guy A. J.; Geukens, Steven Thinking English Grammar: To Honour Xavier Dekeyser, Professor Emeritus. Volume 12 of Orbis / Supplementa. Peeters Publishers, ISBN9789042907638
^Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (2008). "Simpsons Did It!" South Park as differential signifier. in Taking South Park Seriously. SUNY Press, ISBN9780791475669
^Kellner, Douglas (2004). Beavis and Butt-Head: No Future for Postmodern Youth. In Steinberg, Shirley R.; Kincheloe, Joe. Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction Of Childhood. Westview Press, ISBN9780813391540
^Gatti, Susan Irvin (2003). Fuzzy navels and slippery nipples: A sociolinguistic reading of the cocktail menu. The Journal of American Culture, Volume 26, Issue 1, pages 104–110, March 2003 doi:10.1111/1542-734X.00078
