fleshpot
/ˈflɛʃ.pɑt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "1884, Henry James, "A New England Winter" in The Century Magazine 28 (4–5) (August–September 1884). "This was absurd for a person who... had never before had such unrestricted access to the fleshpots. The fleshpots were full, under Donald Mesh's roof, and his wife could easily believe that the poor girl would not be in a hurry to return to her boarding-house in Brooklyn.""
- "The frizzle-headed man-eaters were loath to leave their fleshpots so long as the harvest of human carcases was plentiful. Sometimes, when the harvest was too plentiful, they imposed on the missionaries by letting the word slip out that on such a day there would be a killing and a barbecue."
- "Are you so pressed for funds to pay off that loan that you have sunk into the mire of selling macho sex a la the Advocate's fleshpot section which they call (in what the editors there probably think is a euphemism) "Trader Dick?""
- "The younger man is spirited away to the fleshpots of Malibu Beach, where he becomes tainted by exposure to a dissolute lifestyle."
- ""Mere slip. Serpent of old Nile. Doesn't matter in the least," says Mr. Browne airily; "because she couldn't hear me as it happens. My dear girl, follow out the argument. Cleopatra, metaphorically speaking, was a fleshpot, because the world hankered after her. And—you're another.""
- "Sue Ellen, Pam, Jenna--the mistresses and wives--come and go; in a male-dominated society every woman is a fleshpot unless she has the virtues of Miss Ellie and assumes the role of benevolent matriarch."
Etymology
From flesh + pot. Earliest known use is from 1548 by Philip Nicolls in its literal sense, referring to a passage from Exodus 16:3, where the Israelites complain to Moses and Aaron about their current situation, reminiscing about the abundance of food they had while in captivity in Egypt; and thus it is a calque from Hebrew הַבָּשָׂ֔ר (“flesh, meat”) + סִיר (“pot”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈflɛʃ.pɑt/
- British English: /ˈflɛʃ.pɒt/
Usage
- Slang
- American usage
- Derogatory