molly house
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
Etymology
From the Victorian slang molly (“a male homosexual”).
Noun
molly house (plural molly houses)
- (now historical, slang) A tavern or other establishment in 18th and 19th century England where homosexuals could meet for sexual encounters. [from 18th c.]
- 1992, Rictor Norton, Mother Clap's molly house: the gay subculture in England, page 90:
- Just west of Charing Cross (where a molly named Tolson kept a brandy shop in the late 1720s, and where Whale and Horner were pilloried for keeping a molly house), we come to St James's Square and Pall Mall, ...
- 2007, Katherine Crawford, European Sexualities, 1400-1800, page 204:
- In a vivid illustration of the dynamics created by sexual deviance, molly houses were a defense against the pressures of prejudice, but their visibility inspired new hostility.
- 2007, Thomas A. Foster, Long Before Stonewall, page 99:
- One visitor to a molly house in the Old Bailey observed “men calling one another 'my dear' and hugging, kissing, and tickling each other as if they were a mixture of wanton males and females, and assuming effeminate voices and airs.
- 2014, Mark Ravenhill, Mother Clap's Molly House, page 71:
- Just — we must fuck who we will. Else what's the point of a molly house?
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
