Fair of Speech: The Uses of EuphemismDennis Joseph Enright Can a bomb ever be "clean"? Are we relieved to be warned that there will be an "odor" when once we were told that something would "stink"? Or, to put it another way, when is a euphemism a mark of good taste and when is it a sign of verbal obfuscation? To answer such questions, D.J. Enright invited sixteen distinguished writers to ponder and explore the ubiquitous phenomenon of euphemism. The result is a delightful and provocative collection that not only includes general reflections on euphemism and its history but also treats such specific categories as sex, death, and other natural functions; politics; the language of the great Christian texts; euphamisms spoken to and by children; the law; medicine; office life; and the jargon of official spokesmen, military communiques, and tyrants. Such writers as Diane Johnson, Robert Nisbet, John Gross, Robert Burchfield, and Joseph Epstein bring a variety of perspectives and sensibilities to bear on these topics. Because euphemisms are so intimate and integral to our thinking, any study of them is bound to throw light on the human condition, both past and present. In these essays, humor jostles horror and the homely alternates with the farfetched. Taken together they form an eloquent and often amusing testament to the richness of the subject. About the Author: D.J. Enright is a noted English poet and critic. He recently compiled and edited The Oxford Book of Death. |
Contents
Mother or Maid? An Introduction | 1 |
An Outline History of Euphemisms in English | 13 |
Euphemisms in Greece and Rome | 32 |
Copyright | |
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A. P. Herbert advertising American appears avoid barrister better called CATHERINE STORR century circumlocution common contract course court D. J. ENRIGHT DAVID PANNICK death described Dictionary doctor doubt dysphemism dysphemistic Edmund Wilson English euphemism euphemistic example expressions fact Fanny Fanny Hill favour feel French funeral girl Greek Houyhnhnms human isms Jane Austen jargon judge kind language Latin lavatory lawyers less lives Lord marriage matter means meant ment metaphor modern moral nature never Norman Mailer noun novel obscene one's party patient PATRICIA BEER penis perhaps Philippe Ariès phrase political politicians refer religion Rousseau sanitary towels seems sense sexual simply slang social society someone sometimes sound speak speech suggests synonyms talk television tell term things thought tion truth woman word writing