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touching

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be touching cloth

semi-vulgar slang To have a very urgent or desperate need to defecate. (Refers jokingly to one's feces protruding into one's underpants.) Boy, it's a good thing we got home when we did—I was touching cloth on the way here!

See also: cloth, touching

be touching cotton

semi-vulgar slang To have a very urgent or desperate need to defecate. (Refers jokingly to one's feces protruding into one's underpants.) Boy, it's a good thing we got home when we did—I was touching cotton on the way here!

See also: cotton, touching

touch (oneself)

euphemistic slang To masturbate. My ultra-religious aunt scared us silly when we went through puberty with all sorts of myths about what would happen if we touched ourselves.

See also: touch

let alone someone or something

not to mention or think of someone or something; not even to take someone or something into account. (Fixed order.) Do I have a dollar? I don't even have a dime, let alone a dollar. I didn't invite John, let alone the rest of his family.

See also: alone, let

let someone or something alone

 and leave someone or something alone; leave someone or something be

to avoid touching, bothering, or communicating with someone or something. Leave me alone. I don't want your help. Let it alone! Don't touch it! It may be hot!

See also: alone, let

let alone do something

and to an even greater degree do something We were trapped in a situation you can barely imagine, let alone understand.

Usage notes: used to emphasize the extreme character of something

Related vocabulary: not to mention somebody/something

See also: alone, let

let somebody alone

to not annoy or interrupt someone leave somebody alone I tried to keep my promise not to call her, to let her alone to think, but finally I needed to talk to her.

See also: alone, let

let alone

1. See leave someone alone.

2. Not to mention, as in We have no room for another house guest, let alone an entire family. [c. 1800]

See also: alone, let

let alone

Not to mention; much less: "Their ancestors had been dirt poor and never saw royalty, let alone hung around with them" (Garrison Keillor).

See also: alone, let