Cupid's itch
- noun
- /ˈkjuːpɪdz ɪtʃ/
- NSFW
:
picazón de Cupido
- In 19th-century literature, Cupid's itch was a common euphemism for syphilis.
Examples
-
He feared he had caught Cupid's itch after his reckless weekend.
-
Don't ignore the symptoms of Cupid's itch!
-
During the lecture on old medical slang, the professor mentioned 'the French pox' and Cupid's itch.
-
Many people are embarrassed to discuss Cupid's itch.
-
He feared he had caught Cupid's itch after his reckless weekend.
-
Don't ignore the symptoms of Cupid's itch!
-
In 19th-century literature, Cupid's itch was a common euphemism for syphilis.
Synonyms
49
3.7
An infection you get through sexual contact
29
2.7
An illness you can get from someone when you have sex
12
9.9
An infection you catch from sexual contact
7
3.7
A disease spread by sexual contact
6
7.4
A contagious infection spread by sexual contact
1
4.6
An illness that spreads through sexual contact, like syphilis or gonorrhea
1
5.8
A disease people get through sex
An old name for syphilis, a disease you get by sex
An infection caught during sex, especially syphilis
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
Cupid's + itch
The possessive 'Cupid's' evokes love/sexual activity and 'itch' names a physical symptom, so a learner who knows the words can infer this refers to a love/sex-related itching condition. Because it is a euphemistic idiom for a sexually transmitted infection and the precise communicable/STI sense is culturally specific and not strictly compositional, it is only partially predictable.
Etymology
The phrase Cupid's itch links Cupid (the god of love) with itch (a skin irritation). People used that strong image as a polite or joking name for a disease you could catch from sexual contact, so the phrase came to mean 'a sexually transmitted infection'.