http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/?utm_source=rss Euphemisms old and new Copyright 2009, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/?utm_source=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1905?utm_source=rss Will the Appalachian trail ever be the same? Environmentally, I think so. Linguistically? Not a chance. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1905 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1873?utm_source=rss Euphemisms, like bedbugs and zombies, never strike when you expect them; they're always lurking under a pillow or zombie master that seemed so harmless. So imagine my delight when, right here in the pages of Visual Thesaurus, I read about one of the most delicious, audacious, egregious, preposterous euphemisms of my lifetime or yours — frozen popsicle (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/1848/) as a synonym for homework. Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1873 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1843?utm_source=rss If you feared the end of the Bush administration meant there would be no more preposterous government-propelled euphemisms to keep us warm and confused in these dark nights of the soul, fear not! And while you're non-afraid, how'd you like to buy some legacy assets? Wed, 06 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1843 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1804?utm_source=rss As a resident of Chicago and citizen of the great state of Illinois, I feel as though I am in the center of the political cosmos, whence all good and bad things emanate. Where else has given you, in such a short time, the first black President and the first disgraced former governor with a giant rodent living on his head? You're welcome. Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1804 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1755?utm_source=rss As the only euphemism columnist in America, it is my sacred duty to help euphemisms swim and purr to their greatest potential, lest Darwinian forces maul them prematurely. Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1755 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1688?utm_source=rss Recently, my friend Diane started feeling nauseous and passing out. After a scary trip to the emergency room, she learned the problem was her heart: it kept stopping every once in a while, so she was strongly advised to get a pacemaker. (She now has one and is doing great, thank Zeus.) But when Diane was debating what to do, a doctor not only came down in favor of pacemaker insertion, but a certain word choice as well: "Oh, it's not a surgery," the doctor said. "It's only a procedure." Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1688 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1651?utm_source=rss "Without euphemisms, there could be no good, so it must be good to be euphemistic sometimes." So said George Washington at his Mount Vernon farm, setting the United States on its course as a euphemism-friendly nation, a path that is our patriotic duty to embrace. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1651 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1623?utm_source=rss In Napalm and Silly Putty, George Carlin wrote, "I don't like euphemistic language, words that shade the truth. American English is packed with euphemism, because Americans have trouble dealing with reality, and in order to shield themselves from it they use soft language." Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1623 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1596?utm_source=rss Like NyQuil, a good euphemism can quiet the mind, induce sleep, and stop you from coughing up unpleasant things, like truth or phlegm. Unlike NyQuil, not all euphemisms are available in local drug stores. For the fine euphemism connoisseur, I hope you'll enjoy these lesser-known dances around the truth — their lexical jigs may be unfamiliar, but their style is unmistakable, in this land of purple majesties, low-information voters, and rhetorical flourishes. Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1596 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1551?utm_source=rss Mark Peters' first article for the Visual Thesaurus ("Euphemtastic! (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1507/)") was such a hit that we've decided to make him a regular contributor. Every month he'll be sharing some outrageous euphemisms from his personal collection. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/1551