People Didn't Know This Awkward Phrase for Sex Before, So Now It's a Hilarious Meme

Shutterstock.com - Edited
Shutterstock.com - Edited

There are a lot of awkward, bad euphemisms for sex. We don't need to make a list here. You're doing it in your head right now. Many of those phrases fall under a category that might be best explained as amusing, but not suited for use around your partner. At least not in a serious way. 

Thanks to an article in London's The Times, you can add a gem to that collection. In a perfectly reasonable article called "I’ll tell you what’s wrong with midlife sex — the telly," the author Carol Midgley used a phrase that caught the attention of social media. Moreover, it wasn't just in the article but was used in the publication's tweet about the story. (In the article, Midgley discusses research from the University of Delaware that says people who own a TV set are 6% less likely to have sex in any given week.)

Yes, they're talking about sex when they say "sweep the special chimney."

Quick. Take an unscientific poll of the people around you. Unless they've already read that article, there's a chance 0% of them have heard this phrase before. That was the dominant feeling across social media as people recoiled awkwardly and made memes about the phrase. Here are a few of the best reactions to discovering that at least one person says "sweep the special chimney."

You'll be forgiven if you never think about Dick Van Dyke and Mary Poppins the same way again.

h/t Indy100

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Dustin Nelson is a News Writer with Thrillist. He holds a Guinness World Record but has never met the fingernail lady. Follow him @dlukenelson. dnelson at thrillist dot com