A HARD-ON IN INGLISH

 

HARD-ON

A hard-on means an erection in a man. As lexicographer Tony Thorne notes: “To have a hard-on has been the most common way of expressing male sexual tumescence since the early 20th century.” It is also the title of a Leonard Cohen song, “Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-On”, which includes the line: “Ah but don’t go home with your hard-on / It will only drive you insane.”

The term appears frequently in contemporary fiction. In Sally Beauman’s Destiny (London: Bantam, Corgi, 1987): Plenty of excitement, plenty of anxiety, and no hard-on; just a limp cock hanging between his legs.”

It is useful to be familiar with expressions like this, even if one seldom uses them in conversation. They help understand risqué jokes, colloquial dialogue, and modern literature where sexual slang plays a role.