tallywhacker

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English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from tally (mate, counterpart), from Middle English taly (a tally stick), from Anglo-Norman tallie, Old French taillee, taillie, from Medieval Latin tallia, talia, taillia, from Latin talea (stick, twig), or alternatively from tail, + wag, likely influenced by whack, +‎ -er. Compare tallywag, an eighteenth century dialect term meaning “penis”. Attested as tallywhacker or tallywacker since the twentieth century.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtæliˌ(h)wækɚ/
  • (file)

Noun

tallywhacker (plural tallywhackers)

  1. (slang) penis

References

  • “tallywag; occ. tarriwag”, in Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang, 2006.
  • “tallywhacker”, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language fifth edition, 2016.