http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/?utm_source=rss Euphemisms old and new Copyright 2012, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/?utm_source=rss Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3119?utm_source=rss Before pushing on with this month's batch of old and new euphemisms, I'd feel remiss if I didn't give my take on job creator, which the American Dialect Society voted 2011's Most Euphemistic term of the year. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3119 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3086?utm_source=rss Sadly, I won't be in Portland for the American Dialect Society's meeting, that annual gathering of learned lexicographers and amateur wordinistas. This is an outrage. What foul conspiracy of left-wing moonbats, right-wing wingnuts, and middle-wing batnuts conspired to keep me away? Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3086 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3056?utm_source=rss It's difficult to talk about our problems, isn't it? I know I'd rather drink a pitcher of lava than discuss an ounce of truth. Maybe that's why, when troubles arise, we often bury them in a metric malarkey-load of poppycock, like a student of mine who once alluded to life problem issues: a trifecta of tripe for the ages. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3056 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3021?utm_source=rss Studies show that many people, pets, and colleagues are dumber than a brick. (Or, if you want to look on the bright side, as smart as a box of rocks.) However, as any manners maven will tell you, comparing a co-worker or schnauzer's intelligence to a stump or post is rather cruel. Thankfully, best-selling sportswriter Bill Simmons has concocted a five-word, poppycock-stuffed, restaurant-quality euphemism for stupidity: saddled with limited intellectual capital. Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/3021 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2992?utm_source=rss No one wants to be replaced in someone's heart or cubicle. Still, getting a pink slip at work or from a significant other is like a chocolate cupcake made of pizza compared to the sense of replacement I recently spotted in a New Yorker article by Elizabeth Kolbert. Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2992 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2965?utm_source=rss I don't often feel like I'm contributing much to the world, because I'm not. Doctors, teachers, librarians, and people making dog-sprinkler videos are all benefiting society more than yours truly. Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2965 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2932?utm_source=rss I'm not an Apple guy, but this month I am, because the most egregious euphemisms I've come across since last month hail from the land of Steve-Jobs-istan. As covered in Language Log, "as it turns out" is Apple-ese for unfortunately, and "That's not recommended" replaces any comment remotely equivalent to "Duh!" Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2932 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2898?utm_source=rss In William Goldman's terrific 1989 book, Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting, he uses the term nonrecurring phenomenon for films whose success mystifies Hollywood executives and their magic 8-balls. Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2898 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2873?utm_source=rss A few months ago, New Yorker cartoonist and SXSW attendee Drew Dernavich wrote a tweet so full of euphemisms it made me fall out of my sitting tool. Sitting tool? Here’s the tweet: Just sat in chair whose creator said it was a "sitting tool" with a "learning curve" which stimulated the "conception vessel." Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2873 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2840?utm_source=rss The current love of my life is Green's Dictionary of Slang: an enormous, meticulous, ridiculously wonderful historical dictionary that's the biggest slang collection ever made (uncurated Wiki-crapola like Urban Dictionary doesn't count). Jonathon Green's slangapalooza is an extraordinary source for fulfilling this column's mission: finding under-the-radar euphemisms. Thu, 05 May 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2840