"euphemism" = metaphor or figure of speech

[Peter A. McGraw]

This just points up the urgent need for Congress to pass a law establishing
a speed limit on semantic evolution.  It shouldn't be allowed to occur at a
speed any faster than I can keep up with! :)

Peter Mc.

--On Tuesday, March 22, 2005 1:01 PM -0800 Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM> wrote:

>  Wiley Miller's syndicated panel cartoon "Non Sequitur" of March 3, 2005
> depicts a Dilbert-like office worker blowing a huge police whistle and
> inducing an apparent heart attack in a older coworker.  A third employee
> observes,
>
>     "How many times do I have to tell you, Ralph ?  Whistle-blower is
> just a euphemism...."
>
> In my day, soon after the invention of humor, we concluded similar jokes
> with the phrase "just a figure of speech."  The framing talk balloon is
> quite big enough to contain the longer phrase.
>
> The use of "euphemism" to mean "synonym" has already been commented on,
> IIRC.
>
> Cf. "allegory," currently used almost exclusively to mean "metaphor" on
> live TV.
>
> JL
>
>
>
>
>
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*****************************************************************
Peter A. McGraw       Linfield College        McMinnville, Oregon
******************* pmcgraw at linfield.edu ************************