Does “Gird Your Loins” Mean What You THINK It Means?
Does it have anything to do with sex?
When I was ten my mother had to sign documents at the library allowing me to check out adult books. I read voraciously … still do. I started reading romances when I was eleven.
I used to babysit for a lawyer a few houses down. He had the entire collection of Ian Flemming’s 007 series. I read it all by the time I was twelve. Ditto with his wife’s extensive collection of romance novels.
I remember the first time I read the words … “gird his loins.”
Yeowser, what does THAT mean? From the context of the historic “white knight” romance I was reading, it seemed like it could be pretty tame. I understood it to mean, get armored up and ready for the joust.
I kept on looking at the word “loins.” My mind went to “sex.” Heck, I was almost thirteen, where else would it go?
I finally got brave enough to look up “loins” in the HUGE dictionary at the library. I also looked up “gird your loins” in the encyclopaedia.
Talk about disappointment. NO sex involved.
