Beast with two backs
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| [[Image:Fashionable contrasts James Gillray.jpg |thumb|right|200px|This page '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is part of the [[human sexuality]] series<br><small>Illustration: ''[[Fashionable Contrasts]]'' (1792) by [[James Gillray]].</small>]] | [[Image:Fashionable contrasts James Gillray.jpg |thumb|right|200px|This page '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is part of the [[human sexuality]] series<br><small>Illustration: ''[[Fashionable Contrasts]]'' (1792) by [[James Gillray]].</small>]] | ||
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| + | '''Making the beast with two backs''' is a [[euphemism|euphemistic]] metaphor for two persons engaged in [[sexual intercourse]]. It refers to the situation in which a couple – in the [[missionary position]] or standing – cling to each other as if a single creature, with their backs to the outside. | ||
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| + | In English, the expression dates back to at least [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Othello]]'' (Act 1, Scene 1, ll. 126-127): | ||
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| + | :I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs. | ||
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| + | The equivalent phrase in {{lang-fr|la bete à deux dos}}, appears in [[Rabelais]]' ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'', circa 1532. This was translated into English by [[Thomas Urquhart]] and published posthumously around 1693: | ||
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| + | :In the vigour of his age he married Gargamelle, daughter to the King of the Parpaillons, a jolly pug, and well-mouthed wench. These two did oftentimes do the two-backed beast together, joyfully rubbing and frotting their bacon 'gainst one another. | ||
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| '''The beast with two backs''' is an expression for a man and a woman engaged in [[sexual intercourse]] using the [[missionary position]]. | '''The beast with two backs''' is an expression for a man and a woman engaged in [[sexual intercourse]] using the [[missionary position]]. | ||
Revision as of 06:16, 21 July 2014
Illustration: Fashionable Contrasts (1792) by James Gillray.
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Making the beast with two backs is a euphemistic metaphor for two persons engaged in sexual intercourse. It refers to the situation in which a couple – in the missionary position or standing – cling to each other as if a single creature, with their backs to the outside.
In English, the expression dates back to at least William Shakespeare's Othello (Act 1, Scene 1, ll. 126-127):
- I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.
The equivalent phrase in Template:Lang-fr, appears in Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, circa 1532. This was translated into English by Thomas Urquhart and published posthumously around 1693:
- In the vigour of his age he married Gargamelle, daughter to the King of the Parpaillons, a jolly pug, and well-mouthed wench. These two did oftentimes do the two-backed beast together, joyfully rubbing and frotting their bacon 'gainst one another.
The beast with two backs is an expression for a man and a woman engaged in sexual intercourse using the missionary position.
Etymology
The euphemism is usually attributed to William Shakespeare but can be traced as far as early 16th century France where it is recorded as "la beste à deux doz" (beste=beast, deux=two, doz=back) in Gargantua and Pantagruel (1534) by François Rabelais.
The full passage reads:
- "En son eage virile, espousa Gargamelle, fille du roy des Parpaillos, belle gouge et de bonne troigne, et faisoient eux deux souvent ensemble la beste à deux doz, joyeusement se frotans leur lard, tant qu’elle engroissa d’un beau filz et le porta jusques à l’unziesme moys."
The phrase was first attested in English in Shakespeare's Othello (1603).
See also
