Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 236

The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

Open Arse

This perhaps less than classy phrase is defined by Grose as “a medlar”, which is a small tree. It has fruit which are a little similar to apples, but they must be picked and left to, well, go a bit off before eating them. This is perhaps less interesting than the fact that the word to describe this tree’s appearance dates back over 1,000 years and was originally ‘openaers’ or ‘openears’, with ‘ears’ being another word for arse. I find it a little bizarre that this phrase has this kind of etymological heritage, although it wouldn’t have been seen as offensive in the past as some might find it today.