toe-tapper

See also: toe tapper

English

WOTD – 25 November 2020

Etymology

From toe +‎ tapper.

Sense 2 (“joke”) derives from the practice of tapping one’s toes to indicate pleasure; compare toe-tappingly. Sense 3 (“closeted homosexual, especially one who solicits gay sex”) derives from the 2007 Larry Craig scandal in which then-Senator Larry Craig (born 1945) of Idaho, USA, was arrested after tapping his right foot in a men’s restroom, an action seen as covert solicitation of sex.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtəʊˌtæpə/

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtoʊˌtæpɚ/
• Hyphenation: toe-tap‧per

Noun

toe-tapper (plural toe-tappers)

1. (music) A piece of music with a prominent beat, to which one feels compelled to tap their toes.
   • 1989 August 12, Caroline Foty, “Hindsights”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 5, page 7:

     "I'd Be Lost Without You" seems somewhat out of place from a vocal viewpoint — Lewis's slightly reedy middle soprano is very expressive and absolutely true, but doesn't have enough dark body to fully deal with the torchy melody. It fares better in the ballads and toe-tappers that comprise the rest of the album.

   • 2018 December 12, Charles Bramesco, “A Spoonful of Nostalgia Helps the Calculated Mary Poppins Returns Go Down”, in The A.V. Club‎^[4], archived from the original on 24 May 2019:

     [Emily] Blunt, for one, knows exactly what she's doing. She glides through her scenes even when she's not literally aloft, offsetting her sterner side with prim but genuine affection in her dialogue, then grinning her way through the energetic toe-tappers.

2. A joke which is found to be pleasingly humorous.
3. (possibly derogatory) A homosexual who is closeted regarding sexual orientation, especially one who solicits gay sex. [from 2007]
   • 2007 September 18, Jody May-Chang, “Justice Dept. has guidebook to public sex”, in Pridedepot.com‎^[5]:

     The US Department of Justice has a handy guide for police to focus on when attempting to bust the next toe tapper or washroom wanker.

   • 2007 December 12, David, “No fucking way”, in Joelderfner.com‎^[6]:

     Any bets he is an accomplished toe-tapper in the synagogue bathrooms?

   • 2008 February 14, g1r8c7c6#702696, “Hola, Hillary”, in Caller.com‎^[7]:

     It was nice to use the public restroom at the Hillary event. I didn't have to worry about a republican toe-tapper being in the next stall.

   • 2009 September 7, xavierob82, “VA GOP GOV Candidate Caught by his Family Values”, in City-data.com‎^[8]:

     Yeah, just like George "Mr. Macaca" Allen destroyed Jim Webb in '06. This race is still quite a way aways, and nothing gets Northern Virginia liberals out to the polls in full force faster than GOP nutjobs still peddling phony "cultural" issues and supposed "family values". This guy McDonnel, in fact, sounds like a bonafide bathroom stall toe-tapper.

   • 2010 April 18, aristotle, “Sneaking a lesbian onto the Supreme Court”, in Expeditersonline.com‎^[9]:

     Look, if you got a toe-tapper in the stall next to yourself, just run.

   • 2010 August 26, hill b. nut, “The Devil Made Me Do It”, in Blogspot.com‎^[10]:

     Letting him have a hand in gay politics right now is a little akin to letting the fox too near the henhouse. Or in terms that Republicans can understand, it's a little like letting the toe-tapper too near the airport bathroom stall.

Related terms

• toe-tap
• toe-tapping
• toe-tappingly

Translations

piece of music with a prominent beat

joke which is found to be pleasingly humorous

homosexual who is closeted regarding sexual orientation

See also

• Appendix:American Dialect Society most outrageous words of the year
• knee slapper (joke)
• pillow-biter

Further reading

• “All of the Words of the Year, 1990 to Present”, in American Dialect Society‎^[11], 2020 November 3 (last accessed), archived from the original on 1 November 2020

Anagrams

• poperetta