No subject

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jun 22, 2005, at 8:15 AM, L. Urdang wrote:

> I shall probably be chided for redundancy, but I have
> seen no comment on the trend over the past decade or so among
> medical personnel (phlebotomists, nurses, dentists, etc.) in the
> northeast to warn a patient of the imminent insertion of a
> hypodermic needle in the arm, gums, or
> elsewhere with the words, "This may pinch a little."
> Of course it isn't going to pinch, which means 'grip or seize
> between two fingers, jaws of a pair of pliers,' 'cause pain using a
> constricting force,' and the like: the proper word is prick, but
> that is avoided because it is the slang word for 'penis.' A more
> accurate euphemism might be stick, but I
> have never heard that.
> Perhaps observers in other parts of the US have encountered other
> euphemisms.

"sting" is what i hear in the stanford/palo alto medical facilities.
"stick" is very widespread as a verb for 'inject', but almost always
among medical personnel, not from medical personnel to patients.

arnold