Geographical euphemisms?

[Laurence Horn]

>
>         It's interesting to note how many of these geographical
>euphemisms are pejorative.  Are there any true ironyms (which Dutch
>auction, of course, is not, since it really is an auction) that are
>not pejorative?
>
>John Baker
>
Good point.  I can't think of any offhand, although we have to
remember that pejorativeness is in the mind of the beholder.  The
fact that I can refer to garlic as "the stinking rose" doesn't mean
that I would choose roses over garlic if I could enjoy only one of
these two great gifts of God.  And of course "French kiss" isn't
necessarily pejorative, but it's not a true ironym either.

In fact, the asymmetry you point to is a good argument for dubbing
them "ironyms", since irony shares this asymmetry.  It's far easier
to get an ironic and hence pejorative reading for "that was a
brilliant/great move", "real smart", "he's a real genius", etc. than
to get a positive ironic reading on "that was a dumb move", "he's a
real idiot", etc.  "Oregon sunshine" for 'rain' does work very
elegantly, but compare the implausibility of "California rain" for
'sunshine'.

Larry