[LMB] OT: the term swap out

[Katrina Allis]

On 27/03/2008, Francis Turner <francis.turner at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 3:56 AM, Mark Allums <mark at allums.com> wrote:
> >
> >  Another usage is from a science fiction author: Heinlein.  He had a
> >  character refer to a kiss as "swapping spit".
>
>
> Not sure that is a pure Heinleinism - We used that phrase when I was
> at uni and its usage was sufficiently common that it wasn't restricted
> to the geeky folks who would be likely to have read RAH (although it
> is true that most of my friends at the time fitted in geeky categories
> one way or another, albeit at the more active end of the spectrum).


We used it at intermediate and probably at high school, and while
admittedly, that was in the last fifteen years, I hadn't read any Heinlen
then and the only one I've read now is _Glory Road_... did he do _Starship
Troopers_?  I've read that, too.

No idea if he coined the phrase or not, but it's certainly common enough now
that I wouldn't necessarily think of it as an Americanism, even.  I may have
even vaguely thought it was British.

I think it's more likely to be kids being insulting and scornful.

Katrina