Declining worth:There's been some talk about that fellow who, when encountering the TSA screeners said, "Don't touch
my junk".
A decade or two earlier, one referred to the "
family jewels".
Have said elements declined that badly, from
jewels to
junk? What the hell is happening in this country?
UPDATE; The "junk" expression is relatively new to me. I was unfamiliar with it until maybe 3 years ago. Being on the west coast, I wonder if "junk" was commonly used in the past on the eastern side of the country.
posted by Quiddity at 11/27/2010 09:58:00 PM
Well, the dollar has devalued considerably since 2005, when the Iraq and Afghanistan wars forced the Federal Reserve to run the printing presses day and night. As the dollar goes, so goes male genitalia, I suppose.
I blame the GOP. ;)
I've been wondering about how long that usage of junk has been around. I know I heard it more than 10 years ago. This post suggests it may have been used since the 60s, but a more likely widespread usage is listed as the 90s at US college campuses. It is attested. It is attested in a 2001 UMass Amherst dictionary of slang, and I think I saw it first in 1998-99 on a "bad movie" site called "Oh the Humanity", where it was used to describe genitals in general.
The expression "family jewels" always struck me as having a bit of a jokey, self-deprecating quality. "Junk" is just a bit more direct about its attitude toward what are otherwise known as "naughty bits" or "uglies" (almost exclusively in the phrase "bumpin' uglies").
The late George Carlin had a schtick on "stuff" that was not "junk." He might have commented on polishing the family jewels.
environment pollution has damaged men's fertility. it's on a decline.
