Discussions
Back to Discussions
What does "I put out" mean?

What does "I put out" mean?

angowalnuts
I'm watching this show on Netflix. The students are holding a protest against a school rule they don't like. They're all holding signs up. Little by little each of these students gave up on the cause and dropped their signs. One of the teachers picked up this sign and was confused by it. He turned it around for the other teachers to see and they were all confused/amused. At the same time, a laugh track was played to complement the scene. What does "I put out" mean in this context, and what's the double meaning I'm missing here?

13 comments

Late-Ad-1210•
I put out = I engage in sex without much hesitation
sics2014•
"Put out" is usually said of someone else, and means they'll allow you to have sex with them. It has a sleazy connotation to me, personally. "She put out after the third date". --> She finally gave me sex after the third date
Liwi808•
Normally "putting out" means you're down to sleep with someone or are sexually active / promiscuous. I'm not sure if that's the right meaning in this context, seems confusing.
whooo_me•
It's an American-originated phrase meaning "I have sex on dates / on the first date" etc. Presumably meaning that one student in the crowd took the opportunity of the protest to 'advertise' or look for a partner/date.
Appropriate-West2310•
As I understand it, US slang (not found in Britain unless it has started to spread recently), usually applied to young women, say in high school or college, who are easily convinced to have sex. I'm not sure why it was funny in the given context.
iamnogoodatthis•
Potentially also relevant is that, in British English, "I'm put out" means "I'm slightly annoyed". Eg "I was a bit put out when he said he'd be late again"
Rockglen•
As others have said, in this context it refers to being sexually promiscuous or engaging in sex. It should be noted that "put out" is also used in other contexts, such as: Put out a fire (extinguishing a fire) Feeling put out (feeling inconvenienced, irritated, provoked, vexed, or not included) Put out an article/media (publishing or releasing something) There are some other contexts that use the phrase but most of them are antiquated.
killersnail999•
If the context is a protest — the joke might be that the sign should say “I’m put out” but instead it says “I put out”? I’m not really sure, just a guess. Everyone has communicated the meaning correctly. However, if you add a main verb to say a person *is* “put out,” it means that someone is angry or upset. “Watch out, the teacher is really put out right now” — the teacher is very angry.
Wide-Recognition6456•
He >!fucks!<
doctormyeyebrows•
For further context, the construction of the phrase itself is pretty nonsensical even to native English speakers, so it allows it to be easily-recognizable slang with a specific meaning. Nobody would really use "put out" like this in a sentence without an object unless they mean it in this way.
Sea_Neighborhood_627•
Usually someone who “puts out” is someone who is willing to have at least somewhat casual sex. I’m not sure if that fits with the scene you watched, but it could be a double entendre.
ThirteenOnline•
It means they are promiscuous: demonstrating or implying an undiscriminating or unselective or casual approach to many transient sexual relationships. Back in the day with rockstars like the Beatles, fans would be outside of the studio or after the show and ask for photographs or trying to get attention by like hold up signs. And so a fan would have a sign being very direct saying, I'm willing to have sex with any of you. In the hopes they would see them and select them to have sex with. So the joke is a protest and a crowd of raging fans on the surface are similar, two groups of people passionately trying to get their point across. And so the joke is putting someone who normally would be in situation A (a fan), in situation B (a protest). Because while on the surface they are similar they are truly different contexts. It's like an absurdist dumb joke.
throwaway20102039•
I'm native English and I have no idea honestly lol.