12 June 2003 12:05 [link]
ponce
I saw a van today - "Fit For A King Property Services" - which claimed to be a "fast responce unit". I was vaguely saddened that the signwriter couldn't spell "response" correctly, and that that fact was now carved in vinyl on the side of someone's van.
I never realised that a "ponce" was a pimp. Or a city in southern Puerto Rico for that matter. WordNet knows nothing of the use of "ponce" as an insult. OED puts it well:
ponce, n.
A male homosexual; a lazy or effeminate man. Also as a vague term of abuse.
"A vague term of abuse." I like that.
It also includes ponce as a verb which has great derogatory uses.
It's a bit of a schoolyard word, though. I haven't called anyone a ponce for years. Withnail and I did it well:
I: There's a man over there doesn't like the perfume. The big one. Don't look, don't look. We're in danger, we've got to get out.
Withnail: What are you talking about?
I: I have been called a ponce.
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