That book...
ahem
Yet another word that didn’t mean what it means now...
heh
But I think it did.
LOL, I had to look three times, wipe my eyes and think “Did that say what I thought it said?”
According to my Webster's, the word has been around since about 1593, of unknown origin and has had only one meaning. That "unknown origin" mystery might be resolved if we compare the word "dilate."
The book itself is readily available -- ahem, used -- for anyone so curious:
If there is a double meaning here I suspect it would simply be that, in an incomparably more innocent age, not everyone would immediately recognize what the word implied.
Then again, perhaps the simplest explanation is best: this is, after all, the New York Times.