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pencil squeezer

English translation: masturbator

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:pencil squeezer
Selected answer:masturbator
Entered by: Anthony Green

14:55 Oct 6, 2004
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Slang
English term or phrase: pencil squeezer
This term "pencil squeezer" is from an Ian Dury song which I heard again today, so I'd better put it in the potentially offensive category (!) just to be on the safe side. I had no idea what a pencil squeezer was 20 years ago when I first heard it and I'm none the wiser today - but then again ProZ didn't exist 20 years ago.
The verse in question goes as follows:
There ain't half been some clever bastards.
Van Gogh did some eyeball pleasers.
He must have been a pencil squeezer.
He didn't do the Mona Lisa,
That was an Italian geezer.

So does anyone actually know or is it - as I think - simply an allusive Duryism (alluding to what, I wonder?) in the same way that I think the less hermetic "eyeball pleaser" is?

BTW, Google was no use at all
Anthony Green
Italy
Local time: 18:36
masturbator
Explanation:
I always took it to mean this. You have the eyeball pleasers and he looked at them and pumped his penis. Having a pencil one usually implies small, thin, whatever: as my son says a 'sado' (not as in sadomasochism). I do know Van Gogh did not paint many naked ladies but does the audience? Is it relevant? I don't know. It rhymes!
Selected response from:

Marijke Singer
Spain
Local time: 18:36
Grading comment
It still remains a bit of a mystery to me and Marijke has hit the proverbial nail on the head when she points out the paradox of applying the epithet of masturbator to Van Gogh of all people. I learned some great new words on the way (thanks Derek for monkey spanker!) and I can't help thinking that Dury would have known Susan's pencil and tassel euphemism (which was also new to me). Many thanks too to Rita for the link and Dusty for his insightful point of view (!)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
2 +2check out urbandictionary.com
RHELLER
3 +1masturbator
Marijke Singer
3paper tiger or monkey spanker
Derek Gill Franßen
3Something to do with p----
humbird
3See explanation below...
Tony M
3Artist
Vincenxo


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
paper tiger or monkey spanker


Explanation:
I'm not sure, but maybe he meant both (double-meaning). :-)

Derek Gill Franßen
Germany
Local time: 18:36
Native speaker of: English
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +2
check out urbandictionary.com


Explanation:
too many options to pick from!

Good luck Anthony :-)


    Reference: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=squeezer&r=f
    Reference: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pencil+squeez...
RHELLER
United States
Local time: 10:36
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tehani
59 mins
  -> hello to Argentina!
agree  Asghar Bhatti
6 hrs
  -> Hi Asghar!
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40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
masturbator


Explanation:
I always took it to mean this. You have the eyeball pleasers and he looked at them and pumped his penis. Having a pencil one usually implies small, thin, whatever: as my son says a 'sado' (not as in sadomasochism). I do know Van Gogh did not paint many naked ladies but does the audience? Is it relevant? I don't know. It rhymes!

Marijke Singer
Spain
Local time: 18:36
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
It still remains a bit of a mystery to me and Marijke has hit the proverbial nail on the head when she points out the paradox of applying the epithet of masturbator to Van Gogh of all people. I learned some great new words on the way (thanks Derek for monkey spanker!) and I can't help thinking that Dury would have known Susan's pencil and tassel euphemism (which was also new to me). Many thanks too to Rita for the link and Dusty for his insightful point of view (!)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mikhail Kropotov: u r right
7 hrs
  -> Thank you, SirReal!
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Something to do with p----


Explanation:
I know any more than you do, but I got curious about this so I looked up my dictionary -- Partridge's concise dic. of Slang and unconventional English" edited by Paul Beale. Well not exactly. But there is an expression I found under "P" is "pencil and tassel". Description is as follows:
A (little) boy's penis and scrotum: lower class' euph.
Thereby, it is something to do with this kind of "P", and not a pencil that a school boy would use at his classroom. So if you think this belongs to offensive category I think you are pretty close.

humbird
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese, Native in EnglishEnglish
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
See explanation below...


Explanation:
Well, my first thought was that it might have been an illusion to the artist's being homosexual; the idea of using another orifice for the purpose of squeezing a pencil seems quite illustrative, and certainly colourful!

Maybe I've just got a warped mind... ;-)

Tony M
France
Local time: 18:36
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
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2373 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Artist


Explanation:
I think it's just a slang term for artist. Dury used to teach art, I believe. Eyeball pleasers are just works that are aesthetically pleasing and there is a gallery in the UK called pencil squeezers, so i doubt it's a reference to masturbation or homosexuality. I'm pretty sure he is calling artists pencil squeezers. It is the sort of thing he'd do.

Example sentence(s):
  • Van Gogh did some eyeball pleasers. He must have been a pencil squeezer.
Vincenxo
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