pussy

I. n

1.

the female genitals. A cause of many double entendres and minor embarrass-ments, this usage of the word derives from the resemblance of pubic hair to fur, perhaps reinforced by male notions of affection. (The French equivalent is chatte, virtually a literal translation.) Pussy or puss was first recorded in the sexual sense in the 16th century.

2.

women viewed as sex objects. An unromantic male term used in the same indiscriminate manner as tail, ass, etc. In this generic sense, the term may be expressed as pussy, 'some pussy' or, occasionally, 'a piece of pussy'.

► I hate to say it but I understand in London there's a lot of pussy over there.' (US police officer, Sunday Times colour supplement, 1 January 1967)

3.

a weak, harmless male, a timid person. A word which probably originated in the boxers' lexicon to describe the feeble, patting punches of a loser.

► 'He's a pussy, Frank. Yeah, but he's our pussy.' (Blue Velvet, US film, 1986)

4.

furs, in the jargon of criminals and the police. This example of the jargon of cat burglars was recorded in FHM magazine in April 1996.

5.

a coquettish or 'kittenish' female, in lesbian parlance

II. adj

British

unpleasant, execrable. This use of the word in the late 1990s was probably inspired by the noun sense of the female pudenda, rather than that of a weak, ineffectual person and reflects a distaste for female sexuality on the part of male adolescent gang members, its first users.