To
expectorate.
This action is done by baseball pitchers to indicate that they are indeed on
the mound.
It is done by inner city hoodlums as a sign of contempt, and as an indicator of their feeble intellect.
And it is done by cowboys as they gallantly open the door of a pickup truck for a lady.
As you walk past
the open door of a public men's room, you can hear men hawking and spitting. As you walk past the open door of a public ladies' room, you cannot. Nobody has a good explanation of this phenomenon. Suffice it to say, spitting is a man's practice. Not even low life women spit much.
Pete opened the door of his
pickup for Sara
Sue. As she was getting out, he
spit on the street between her feet. "Oh, such a gentleman," she said.