What is the origin of the phrase “echar un polvo”?

In Latin America, it is common to use the expression “echar un polvo” and its variant “echar un polvito” to refer to having sex. And in some countries in the region, the term is also used to describe that act when it happens quickly.  

The widespread use of this expression throughout the Americas suggests that it originated in Europe and was brought to the Americas during the Spanish colonial period. In fact, historians and experts in etymology agree that the expression originated in Spain, although they differ on its exact derivation.

The first theory suggests that the phrase has an ecclesiastical origin, so to speak, since it derives from a phrase used by the Catholic Church. Originally, when the Mass was celebrated in Latin, the expression “memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris” was used. This phrase, which literally translates to “remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” became popular among the common people as “we are dust, from dust we come, and to dust we shall return.” Since it is obvious that we are all conceived through a sexual act, the phrase “we come from dust” gradually came to be used as a euphemism for having sex.

However, the previous theory does not explain why “echar un polvo” is often associated with having quick sex. The following theory, which I’ll explain below, does.

In the 17th century, when Spain still held its colonies in the Americas, there was a social custom in Europe that was every bit as prevalent as some more recent ones. It consisted of consuming a fine mixture of tobacco powder and other aromatic substances, known as “rapé.” It was consumed by snorting it through the nose, using a kind of pipe, in a manner similar to how cocaine is inhaled today.

The truth is that inhaled tobacco caused an allergic reaction in the nasal passages and other parts of the respiratory tract, leading to annoying and loud sneezing. For this reason, users would often temporarily step away from social gatherings to inhale tobacco, so as not to cause discomfort to the other participants. And to avoid being rude, they would inform their fellow guests that they were stepping away to “take a puff” of tobacco.

Once the custom of stepping away to inhale snuff took hold, it became the perfect excuse to slip away from a gathering for a while and have a secret rendezvous with one’s lover. Thus, for a time, the tobacco mixture offered the opportunity to leave one’s regular partner for a moment and go for a furtive, brief sexual encounter with someone else.

The change in the way people consumed tobacco eventually put an end to the custom of “having a puff of tobacco,” although the phrase remained associated with a sexual act. In fact, in a play from 1874 titled *Don Juan Notorio: A Brothel in Five Acts and 2,000 Scandals*, the phrase was used as a synonym for sexual intercourse.

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