Screw

Screw is slang for copulate and dates from the late 18th century and, from about the same time, also meant a prostitute, hence ‘screw you’ is often used as a euphemism for ‘fuck you’. Screw, as in a prison guard, is slang from the early 19th century and derives from earlier slang, ‘screws’, from the late 18th century, which were the keys that the guards carried. Screw as in money or wages, as in being ‘on a good screw’ is slang from the late 19th century. Screw, as in to swindle or cheat someone out of money, also dates from the late 19th century.