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blue balls

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: blue-balls

English

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Etymology

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US English, 1910s, blue +‎ balls (testicles).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

blue balls pl (plural only)

  1. (slang) A cramp-like ache in the testicles and prostate region caused by prolonged sexual arousal; testicles experiencing such an ache.
  2. (slang, figuratively) Unfulfilled sexual desire.
  3. (US, dated, slang) Buboes (in a person of any sex) caused by a sexually transmitted infection; the infection that causes them.
    • 1920, V.D. pamphlet[1], page 33:
      [...] away the flesh and cause ulcers and buboes (blue balls).
    • 1960, Laman Alexander Gray, A Text Book of Gynecology, page 47:
      It invades lymphatics, is carried to the inguinal lymph nodes, where multiple abscesses, buboes, or "blue balls" appear. A brawny edema of the labia, with deeply penetrating destructive ulcers may occur in the late stages.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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