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While I was watching James Bond 007 - Goldfinger on TV, I remember a lesson I had back in high school. We were learning about how movies are affected/released by what is going on in society. We looked at Dr. Strange Love and James Bond 007 - Goldfinger. I'm quite sure we were supposed to note the notations to nuclear weaponry, however in Goldfinger everyone just laughed their asses off when Pussy Galore's name was brought up.

Now, I may be trying to keep both my physical and mental virginity until I get a girlfriend, but I know what everyone was going on about with Pussy Galore (and personally I don't find it funny, I saw the film several times before the class and never found it funny). I know that the James Bond films are based off books which were out long before the movies were released. I've been wondering, was Pussy Galore's name really a take on the slag term currently used in porn or was there another reason why Pussy Galore was named this way?

NOTE: While the answer probably lies in the book rather than the film's development, there's no SE site for books (at least not named easily enough) and this curiosity has came from watching the film, not to mention I do not know how different the movie is to the book so there is a chance that Pussy goes under a different name in the book.

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  • 3
    There was a Literature.SE site, but unfortunately it closed after seeing low adoption during the beta. area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/6426/literature
    – Avner Shahar-Kashtan
    Nov 7, 2013 at 7:55
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    What about miss Plenty O'Toole in Diamonds Are Forever? I thought that was a funny, suggestive name as well
    – user7756
    Jan 24, 2014 at 21:43
  • There's a new Literature! You can ask your questions about the books there!
    – Gallifreyan
    Feb 10, 2017 at 17:12

7 Answers 7

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It seems the women in James Bond's love life often have provocative names:

  • Honey Rider, Dr. No (1961): 1960s sexual position name for reverse cowgirl
  • Domino Vitali/Petachi, Thunderball (1965) and Never Say Never Again (1983): Dominatrix?
  • Kissy Suzuki, You Only Live Twice (1967): "kissing machine"?
  • Tiffany Case, Diamonds Are Forever (1971): beautiful outside, desirable inside
  • Dr. Holly Goodhead, Moonraker (1979): certainly a euphemism for holy fellatio
  • Judy Havelock, For Your Eyes Only (1981): bondage term or wrestling lock
  • Octopussy, Octopussy (1983): (what can I say?)
  • Xenia Onatopp, Goldeneye (1995): none too subtle
  • Wai Lin, Tommorrow Never Dies (1997): sounds like Way In or Whaling, both implying forceful sex

I'm having trouble deciphering Vesper Lynd (from several Casino Royale movies). Vesper means evening, but I don't see how that provocatively fits with Lynd.

As for what they all mean: maybe Bond can't be relied upon to independently identify his next sexual conquest, so they are named as though they have signs on them.

Or maybe Ian Fleming was poking fun at English society's prudish and contradictory morals.

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  • 6
    You missed Dr Goodhead from Moonraker.
    – Tom77
    Nov 8, 2013 at 10:43
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    So what does "Pussy Galore" mean? :)
    – coleopterist
    Nov 11, 2013 at 2:37
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    I remember reading that Vesper Lynd was a (innuendo-less, for once) wordplay on “West Berlin”.
    – DaG
    May 1, 2014 at 20:24
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    @MrLore: Wasn't there also a quip like Christmas only comes once a year?
    – wallyk
    May 31, 2014 at 15:09
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    More recently they've been fantastically parodied in the Austin Powers films, with "Alotta Fagina", "Felicity Shagwell", etc.
    – Tom Harrington
    Sep 21, 2015 at 18:30
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The meaning of the name "Pussy Galore" is essentially "abundant sex" (with "Pussy" meaning sex and "Galore" meaning abundant).

The name "Pussy Galore" is intended to make viewers laugh. The humor is largely driven by how the name is such an obvious, crude reference to sex.

Remember the movie came out in 1964, when audiences were much less de-sensitized to sex and to shock-humor than they are today. Also note that the most recent Bond films seem to have done away with the obvious-sex-reference names for Bond Girls -- probably because that stuff just isn't funny to enough people anymore, and might even be considered offensive by many.

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There is also a Wikipedia entry on the character, which explains the meaning and origin:

As with many of Ian Fleming's creations, the name is a double entendre—in this case with respect to pussy, which is both another word for a housecat and a slang term for vulva and vagina, while galore means an abundant or plentiful supply of something.

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  • 9
    Hardly a double entendre. Joey from Friends couldn't misunderstand it.
    – T.J. Crowder
    Sep 15, 2015 at 17:09
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That's really a question only Ian Fleming can answer, but he did use double entendres quite often when naming his female characters. In this case the double entendre is (hidden because it's not polite conversation):

a housecat and vulva.

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    In this case the double entendre is a housecat and vulva.... I can't believe you actually typed that out, man.
    – John Smith Optional
    Nov 7, 2013 at 2:31
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    just answering the question...
    – Ben Plont
    Nov 7, 2013 at 5:30
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    "hidden because it's not polite conversation" - What is impolite in an anatomical term? But nevermind, to each his own. ;-)
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Nov 7, 2013 at 9:48
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    Down-vote because "Pussy Galore" is not a double entendre -- and I guarantee Ian Fleming did not have "housecat" in mind :)
    – Shiz Z.
    Nov 9, 2013 at 0:21
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    @ShaneF. Pussy doesn't mean the same thing in 1960s british slang as it does in contemporary America. What we call a stand-up guy they call a pussy, what we call a pussy they call a fanny, what we call a fanny they call a bum. The name is a well documented double entendre.
    – Ben Plont
    Nov 9, 2013 at 15:59
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It's an obvious sexual innuendo ("pussy" is probably the most-often used slang term for "vagina", and if you don't know what "galore" means then you need a dictionary), which was spoofed in the Austin Powers movies (Alotta Fagina).

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    What are you using as your basis of fact ... ? I'm not asking you what is "obvious" but what you can prove.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
    Feb 19, 2014 at 23:08
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    We know that, the question is more WHY? What's the meaning?
    – Meat Trademark
    Feb 20, 2014 at 10:35
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    Why does it have to have meaning? Can't it just be a provocative name?
    – Johnny Bones
    Feb 20, 2014 at 16:19
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    I suspect the downvotes are because the answer is not new - there are several answers already stating the obvious sexual innuendo.
    – iandotkelly ♦
    May 4, 2014 at 20:36
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    Yet it's more correct than some of the upvoted answers which came after the first answer, and I even added the Austin Powers reference to make it easier to understand the reference.
    – Johnny Bones
    May 4, 2014 at 20:42
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The word "Galore" comes from the Irish term "Go Leoir" meaning plenty.

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    Why does it always follow the noun it modifies? Is that a Gaelic practice?
    – Michael Lorton
    Apr 15, 2014 at 0:37
  • @Malvolio: yes it is. 'food galore' = food aplenty/ lots of food
    – smci
    Sep 15, 2015 at 22:53
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    I mean, in general, do Gaelic adjectives follow their nouns?
    – Michael Lorton
    Sep 16, 2015 at 4:42
  • They do as a rule, but not necessarily in the case of 'go leoir' - but then I wonder if that is even an adjective (plenty of cake - is "plenty" an adjective here?)
    – komodosp
    Aug 29, 2022 at 11:08
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Miss Pussy Galore was suposed to be a Lesbian . With that in mind, She Is surely a Pussy Galore. Abundant Pleasure but yet unbroken. Until 007 came. She turned as an ally to 007,after being detained by Goldfinger. Some eventful night on the detaining room must've open Pussy's perspective on having a good time with a male counterpart... Maybe mr.Fleming had 0069 in mind (?)

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    Huh????????????
    – System Down
    Apr 4, 2014 at 20:51
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    This is a reasonable answer but you need to rewrite it for clarity and brevity.
    – smci
    Sep 15, 2015 at 22:54

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