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I was a bit surprised to find a word, “womb owners” in the article titled, “Women can be funny, admits Jerry Lewis (sort of)” in Time Magazine’s online edition (April 15, 2014). The article begins with the following lead copy:

“Back in 1998, Jerry Lewis said he didn't like women comedians. Recently, the aging laughter legend clarified that Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett were alright, but he's still very uncomfortable when womb owners take the mic”

http://time.com/61560/funny-women-jerry-lewis/

The meaning of the word is obvious, but none of CED, OED, and Merriam-Webster carries this word.

Is it accepted as being used straight in the leading English language publication like TIME? Did the writer use this word just for embellishment or fun? First of all, isn’t it a politically incorrect word?

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    That's two separate words- each of which is in the dictionary.
    – Jim
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 2:58

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Womb owners is not an idiomatic expression, but it's absolutely clear who Jerry Lewis was referring to. As a woman, I don't find the expression particularly insulting nor offensive, but neither do I find it amusing. I do, however, interpret the comedian words as being snide and sarky in nature. To be brief he is saying that women shouldn't waste their time in telling jokes or kidding themselves they can do stand-up comedy, their primary function in life is to bear children.

After writing the above, I decided to read the Time article. Unbelievable. Jerry Lewis is the epitome of a male chauvinist pig. And that is all I have to say.

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No, it isn't a commonly used phrase. Remember that you're reading about comedians; you have to expect some deliberately silly language.

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  • It matters me that the words (womb owners) used by comedians, not by the column writer.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 3:11
  • Someone writing about comedians will almost always be tempted to insert some jokes of their own. This is one. Not a good one, but that's all it is.
    – keshlam
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 3:13
  • Correction: My above comment is preposterous. It should be corrected as:It matters me that the words (womb owners) is used by the active column writer, not by comedians.
    – Yoichi Oishi
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 3:21
  • I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make, either way. ("It matters me" is not correct English, which may be the problem; you may want to try rephrasing.)
    – keshlam
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 3:36
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    @Yoichi Then it probably did what it was intended to do: bring the feeling of being uncomfortable to the reader.
    – skymningen
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 8:31
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Jerry Lewis was using slang and why would Time not publish his authentic voice? He has a history of politically-incorrect work, and controversial comments that spans his career. I saw an interview were Andrew Dice Clay claimed he based his disrespectful persona on a Lewis performance.

Jerry Lewis' comment on “womb owners” lacking 'comedy chops' reflected the prejudicial nature of 'Old Hollywood', and the early years of television. To work, pioneer female comics had to fit a stereotype that Joan Rivers reflected on after comedian Phyllis Diller's death:

"The only tragedy is that Phyllis Diller was the last from an era that insisted a woman had to look funny in order to be funny," Rivers tweeted. "If she had started today, Phyllis could have stood there in Dior and Harry Winston and become the major star that she was. I adored her!" http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/showbiz/phyllis-diller-obit/index.html

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    'womb owner' is not slang. 'womb' is definitely not slang, nor is 'owner'; together they're not either. In fact, it sounds like an attempt to avoid all slang possible and verges towards the clinical (but 'womb' is the Anglo-Saxon cognate for the unquestionably clinical 'uterus'). Just because it is Anglo-Saxon doesn't mean it is rude. Compare with 'maw' for 'stomach'.
    – Mitch
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 13:04
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    I wouldn't call it slang simply because it is not in common use. However, this is is a case of being inappropriately pseudo-clinical in an exaggerated and unnecessary manner, and as such does carry a sneering, cynical, and rude tone. The point being made was that female comedians have often been treated with disrespect; this phrase echos that.
    – keshlam
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 22:38

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