ugandan affairs
/(j)uˌɡɑndən əˈfɛɚz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.18 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Often in the form to discuss Ugandan affairs: sexual intercourse, usually an extramarital affair.
British usage; Humorous
Example Sentences
- "Everyone known about them now; Rosemary has even been mentioned in Private Eye as "discussing Ugandan affairs with a gorgeous young American don.""
- "'You sure they're not … er … discussing Ugandan affairs?' Rhona asked, citing the old euphemism for illicit sex."
- "The fact that his [George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe's] "heavy workload" included many discussions of Ugandan affairs just shows how prescient Private Eye was when it adopted the phrase as a euphemism for the sexual indiscretion of politicians at least 15 years later."
- "She [Margaret Thatcher] had been baffled by what Private Eye referred to as "Ugandan affairs" in relation to [Cecil] Parkinson's affair with Sarah Keays,^([sic – meaning Sara Keays]) saying: "I know it's untrue. He's never been to Africa.""
Etymology
Probably a variant of Ugandan discussions (“(UK, euphemistic, informal) sexual intercourse”), from discuss Uganda (“(UK, euphemistic, informal) to have sex”), said to have been coined by the English journalist and poet James Fenton (born 1949), based on a 1973 incident at a party at which the Irish journalist Mary Kenny (born 1944) explained why she was in the arms of a former Ugandan cabinet minister by saying they were “upstairs discussing Uganda”. The incident was reported by the British satirical and current affairs magazine Private Eye on 9 March 1973, which then popularized the expression by using it to refer to other sexual affairs.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /(j)uˌɡɑndən əˈfɛɚz/
- British English: /juːˌɡændən əˈfɛəz/