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| Friday 28 Sep 2012: To occupy was a euphemism |
| In the 16th and 17th Century the verb "to occupy" was a common euphemism for sexual relations (e.g. "to occupy a woman"). Shakespeare even mentioned this use in one of his plays: "God's light, these villains will make the word as odious as the word 'occupy;' which was an excellent good word before it was ill sorted" (Henry IV, Part 2, Act 2, Scene 4). |