Saturday, April 19, 2008

Why Flirty? Why Dirty? Why Both?

From the inexorable dictionary.com:

(some verbs)
1. To court triflingly or act amorously without serious intention; play at love; coquet.
2. To trifle or toy with, as an idea.
3. To move with a jerk or jerks; dart about.
4. To move quickly.

(some nouns)
1. A seductive woman
2. One who flirts

Some etymology:
"The noun is first attested 1549, with the meaning, "stroke of wit."
"...flirt had come to mean "a pert young hussey" [Johnson] by 1562..."



(Selected meanings)
1. Soiled, as with dirt.
2. Apt to soil with dirt or grime.
3. Scandalous


Put 'em all together and you have a sometimes silly, sometimes scandalous woman who moves quickly from place to place, from idea to idea, who might often be found covered with leftover trail dust. Et voilĂ -- c'est moi!

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