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Mark Peters

Mark Peters is a language columnist, lexicographer, and humorist who has written for Esquire, The Funny Times, New Scientist, Psychology Today, Salon, and Slate. He contributes to OUPblog and writes the Best Joke Ever column for McSweeney's. You can read Mark's own jokes on Twitter, such as, "I play by my own rules, which is probably why no one comes to my board game parties anymore."
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Mephitic Weasels in the Garden House

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.April 5, 2019
By Mark Peters
Here are some of the latest and non-greatest lengths your fellow hairless apes have gone to not say what they mean.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Unplanned Descents into Drivel

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.March 11, 2019
By Mark Peters
Just as there are oodles of food trucks, there are mega-oodles of language emetics in the form of euphemisms. Please hate enjoying or enjoy hating the following.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Engaged, Vintage, Deleted Drivel, Begob!

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.February 11, 2019
By Mark Peters
Here are some of the euphemisms I've scraped, like barnacles, off the bloated boat of language. Do not attempt such hazardous, horsepucky-adjacent collection yourself.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

What, By Gosh, is Euphemism of the Year?

January 9, 2019
By Mark Peters
It's that time of year when I choose a Euphemism of the Year. I've whittled the list down to four candidates, which are the lexical equivalent of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Continue reading...
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Dog Eared

Books we love

"Talk on the Wild Side" Is a Sharp Ode to Our Unruly, Resilient Language

December 21, 2018
By Mark Peters
Like most well-informed language books, this one is not going to be popular with the English-is-going-to-hell crowd. In this multifaceted yet focused book, Greene makes a powerful argument for the inherent resiliency of language, and his own sharp writing is serious support for language's power.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Deinstitutionalizing Policy Time and Other Mischaracterizations

December 7, 2018
By Mark Peters
It was recently revealed that the daily agenda of the most powerful person in the world included policy time (in addition to executive time). It's my policy to crank out a new roundup of euphemisms each month. Around these here parts, it's always malarkey time.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Work-Life Malarkey in the Entrepreneurial Economy

November 7, 2018
By Mark Peters
The well of drivel will never run dry, so let's amble through the latest and worst euphemisms I've collected during the first month of my second decade as a euphemism columnist.  Continue reading...
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1 2 3 4 5 Displaying 1-7 of 177 Articles