Bestiality And Comparative Linguistics, Together At Last

Let's play a game.  Let us say that you lived in England for about nine months, and along the way picked up the regional slang as thoroughly as a dentally unhygienic person picks up plaque.  Now back in Australia, your home country, you still say 'sodding rain', 'bugger this for a bunch of bananas' and 'stop being such a prat' on at least a semi-regular basis.

Part of this slang-knowledge involves a vague understanding of the British term 'nobbling', which is, shall we say, the anatomical equivalent of 'getting one's leg over' or 'boinking'- though, in the great English tradition of rude/sexual phrases, it appears to have little or no technical relation to the actual thing it's describing.  To me, 'nobbling' sounds like an aggressive activity involving shins and hockey-sticks.

Planning A Nobbling

Nevertheless, a (slightly informal) quote from a British scientist about beetles confirms the point:

"Males started getting nobbled by other males, so they evolved the female defensive genitals."  (Sydney Morning Herald)

So!  Let's assume that (despite your ostensible pure-mindedness) you've picked up this slang along with the rest.  Now the fun begins.  Imagine that it's racing time in Australia, and that in Australian slang, completely unbeknownst to you, 'nobbling' means 'to handicap a horse, usually by drugging it'. 

Now, picture your Australian family happily discussing 'nobbling a horse' around the dinner table.

Insert quote about the positive disgust/humour values of comparative linguistics HERE.

Note: It had just come to my attention that this blog is now the First Result on Google if you search for the words 'bestiality comparative linguistics'.  This is certainly fame of a slightly unprecedented kind.