Ugandan affairs

English

WOTD – 8 January 2022

Etymology

Probably a variant of Ugandan discussions (“(UK, euphemistic, informal) sexual intercourse”), from discuss Uganda (“(UK, euphemistic, informal) to have sex”), said to have been coined by the English journalist and poet James Fenton (born 1949), based on a 1973 incident at a party at which the Irish journalist Mary Kenny (born 1944) explained why she was in the arms of a former Ugandan cabinet minister by saying they were “upstairs discussing Uganda”. The incident was reported by the British satirical and current affairs magazine Private Eye on 9 March 1973, which then popularized the expression by using it to refer to other sexual affairs.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /juːˌɡændən əˈfɛəz/, /jʊ-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /juˌɡændən əˈfɛɚz/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)z
• Hyphenation: Ugand‧an af‧fairs

Noun

Ugandan affairs pl (plural only)

1. (British, euphemistic, humorous) Often in the form to discuss Ugandan affairs: sexual intercourse, usually an extramarital affair.

   Synonyms: Ugandan discussions; see also Thesaurus:copulation

   • 1984, Alison Lurie, chapter 5, in Foreign Affairs, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, published November 1985, →ISBN, page 171:

     Everyone known about them now; Rosemary has even been mentioned in Private Eye as "discussing Ugandan affairs with a gorgeous young American don."

   • 1998, Cathy Kelly, chapter 13, in She’s the One, London: Headline Publishing Group, published 2011, →ISBN:

     'You sure they're not … er … discussing Ugandan affairs?' Rhona asked, citing the old euphemism for illicit sex.

   • 2004 January 1, Alan Travis, “Call girls, drugs and Ugandan affairs shook cabinet: Ministers in the Heath government had to quit”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 1 December 2016:

     The fact that his [George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe's] "heavy workload" included many discussions of Ugandan affairs just shows how prescient Private Eye was when it adopted the phrase as a euphemism for the sexual indiscretion of politicians at least 15 years later.

   • 2016 January 25, “Lord Parkinson – obituary: Thatcherite star whose career faltered after revelations of an affair with his former secretary”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph‎^[3], London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     She [Margaret Thatcher] had been baffled by what Private Eye referred to as "Ugandan affairs" in relation to [Cecil] Parkinson's affair with Sarah Keays,^{[sic – meaning Sara Keays]} saying: "I know it's untrue. He's never been to Africa."

Related terms

• discuss Uganda
• Ugandan (adjective)
• Ugandan discussions

Translations

sexual intercourse — see sexual intercourse

Further reading

• recurring jokes in Private Eye on Wikipedia.Wikipedia