Beast with two backs

Making the beast with two backs is a euphemistic metaphor for two persons engaged in sexual intercourse. It refers to the situation in which a couple—in the missionary position or standing—cling to each other as if a single creature, with their backs to the outside.

In English, the expression dates back to at least William Shakespeare's Othello (Act 1, Scene 1, ll. 126-127):^[1]

I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.

The origin of the phrase is in French: la bête à deux dos, because it appears in Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, c. 1532. This was translated into English by Thomas Urquhart and published posthumously around 1693.^[2] In contrast, it is believed that Othello was written by Shakespeare in approximately 1603.

In the vigour of his age he married Gargamelle, daughter to the King of the Parpaillons, a jolly pug, and well-mouthed wench. These two did oftentimes do the two-backed beast together, joyfully rubbing and frotting their bacon 'gainst one another.

See also

• The Beast with Two Backs, a studio album by the goth rock band Inkubus Sukkubus.
• A Beast With Two Backs, a British television play first broadcast in 1968.
• Back with Two Beasts, an album by the Australian band The Church (band).
• Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to missionary positions.

• The dictionary definition of beast with two backs at Wiktionary
• Quotations related to Beast with two backs at Wikiquote
• Works related to Beast with two backs at Wikisource

William Shakespeare's Othello
Characters	Othello Desdemona Iago Cassio Emilia Bianca Roderigo Brabantio Other characters
Source	"Un Capitano Moro" from Gli Hecatommithi (1565) by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Description of Africa Sampiero Corso
Opera and ballet adaptations	Otello (1816; opera) Otello (1887; opera) Othello (1892; overture) The Moor's Pavane (1949; ballet) Othello (1998; ballet score) Bandanna (1999; opera)
Films	1922 1951 1955 1965 1995
TV	1981 1990 1994 2001
Stage adaptations	Masquerade (1835) Othello (1951) Catch My Soul (US; 1969) Catch My Soul (UK; 1970)
Film adaptations	Jubal (1956) All Night Long (1962) Catch My Soul (1974) Kaliyattam (1997) O (2001) Eloise (2002) Souli (2004) Omkara (2006) Jarum Halus (2008)
From Verdi	Otello (1906; film) Othello Ballet Suite/Electronic Organ Sonata No. 1 (1967; ballet suite) Otello (1986; film) The Othello Syndrome (2008; album)
Art	Othello
Phrases	"Beast with two backs"
Related	Othello error Filming Othello Red Velvet The Duke of Milan Love's Sacrifice Desdemona Goodnight Desdemona
Story within a story	Carnival (1921 film) Carnival (1931 film) The Deceiver (1931) Men Are Not Gods (1936) A Double Life (1947) Saptapadi (1961) The Dresser (1980 play) The Dresser (1983 film) An Imaginary Tale (1990) The Dresser (2015 film)