quail:

1. Colloquialism, since the 16 ^th centuries, for a prostitute . See prostitute for synonyms.
See also: covey .

2. Today, generally applied to any woman regarded as a sexual-object or quarry , based on a quail being a game bird .

3. In US gay-slang , ' a migratory bird , a delicacy to chicken-hawks ' Bruce Rodgers. The Queens' Vernacular (1972).

4. Or: California-quail / San-Quentin-quail , a girl below the legal age-of-consent . Peggy LaRue Satterlee, who charged Errol Flynn with rape in 1942, testified that Flynn had called her J.B. (jailbait) and S.Q.Q. (San Quentin quail) during their encounter. The jury acquitted Flynn.

See Also: body squeak, covey, dally, dilly-dally, fart, quail, S.Q.Q.

Quotes Containing quail:
Professor Quail (W.C. Fields) in International House (1933): ''Now that I''m here and see what''s to be had, I shall dally in the valley and believe me I can dally .''
Sgt. Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) flirting with Rika Van Den Haas (Patsy Kensit), in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989): 'Come on , be original. Say yes . Everybody else says no .' W.C. Fields, as Professor Henry R. Quail, had a similar line in International House (1933). The hotel is full and he's looking for someone to bunk with. To Peggy Hopkins Joyce (as herself) he says: ?Here's a chance to have a laugh on every other girl in the world .?
Peggy Hopkins Joyce (as herself), sitting on a cat and Professor Quail's (W.C. Fields) miniature car in International House (1933): - Peggy Hopkins: 'I'm sitting on something.' - Professor Quail: 'It's just a pussy .'

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