swinging dick

English

Etymology

From swinging +‎ dick (“penis”). Appeared in US military and prison slang from the 1950s.

Pronunciation

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Noun

swinging dick (plural swinging dicks)

1. (slang, vulgar) A man, especially one who exhibits bravado or machismo.
   • 1970, James Blake, “The Widow, Bereft”, in Martha Foley, David Burnett, editors, The Best American Short Stories 1971:

     "Simple. They're all scared shitless of Polack and Artie, so they hate their guts. They know Polack is running the joint, and there ain't a swingin' dick can do a motherin' thing about it."

   • 2008, James Lee Burke, The Tin Roof Blowdown:

     Nate took over from the watch commander and addressed all the uniformed patrol personnel in the room. "I want every swinging dick out there on the firing line, in vests and with maximum ordnance," he said.

   • 2009, Avery Dick, Dick‎^[1]:

     Why didn't you request a country clearance like every other swinging dick?”

   • 2009, Leonard Osborns, Decisions‎^[2]:

     It's always the girl's fault isn't it? Well as I see it, there was a swinging dick involved in this picture

2. (slang, vulgar) A man who is sexually very active.
   • 2008, Craig Maddox, Robbie, page 248:

     I explained to her in my best stage whisper that I had been seriously wounded in the war, and I was now more a Hemmingwayesque embittered celibate than a swinging dick.

   • 2010, Joe R Lansdale, The Best of Joe R. Lansdale, page 26:

     A boozing, pill-popping, swinging dick until the end of time.

   • 2014, Alice Clayton, Rusty Nailed, page 154:

     Simon had obviously been a big swinging dick around here, and I wondered how many of them had taken a turn on that swing...

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see swinging,‎ dick.
   • 1995, Kwame Dawes, Prophets, Peepal Tree, →ISBN, page 35:

     Entertained and amused, they giggle at his swinging dick till the guardy remembers his calling and wrestles the mad man from the building

Usage notes

This is usually used in phrases like every swinging dick or big swinging dick.

See also

• swing one's dick around

References

• Jonathon Green (2024) “swinging dick n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang
• Cassell's Dictionary of Slang‎^[3], 2005