Innuendo
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An innuendo is, according to the Advanced Oxford Learner's Dictionary, "an indirect remark about somebody or something, usually suggesting something bad or rude; the use of remarks like this: innuendoes about her private life or The song is full of sexual innuendo." The word is often used to express disapproval.[1]
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion. In the latter sense, the intention is often to insult or accuse someone in such a way that one's words, taken literally, are innocent.
The term sexual innuendo has acquired a specific meaning, namely that of a "risque" double entendre by playing on a possibly sexual interpretation of an otherwise innocent uttering.
For example, if you were playing billiards, you might say "hold my balls", meaning the pool balls, but that can also have a sexual innuendo to it.
[edit] References
- ^ Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th Edition; electronic version)
