"call a spade a spade"

[Andrea Morrow]

Amen, Charlie.  Who on this list would argue that because certain
words historically meant one thing, they must always and only mean that? Or
that an "irrational" or "stupid" meaning acquired by a word should not be
acknowledged to exist?  Yet it seems like there are many who are making
similar claims about the phrase in question.  Take a look on google for
"Archie Bunker" and "call a spade a spade" and see what is out there.  The
phrase makes many people uneasy, and delights others for precisely this
reason.  I don't think it would get that reaction if we were all just
talking about shovels.
Andrea

On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 12:43 PM, Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "call a spade a spade"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The opinion seems prevalent among our list discussants that because a
> certain use or interpretation of the phrase is irrational or stupid, it
> should not exist--therefore it does not exist and cannot exist. Who would
> have anticipated THAT response from such a scientific and non-prescriptive
> congregation?!
>
> From Rosalie Maggio, _The Bias-Free Word Finder. A Dictionary of
> Nondiscriminatory Language_ (Boston: Beacon, 1991):  "_call a spade a spade_
> get to the point, speak plainly . . . . The expression is associated with a
> racial slur and should be avoided" (p. 61).
>
> From Christine Ammer, _Have a Nice Day--No Problem! A Dictionary of
> Cliches_ (NY: Dutton, 1992): "A cliche since the nineteenth century, it
> acquired a slightly more sinister meaning when 'spade' became an offensive
> slang word for a black person" (p. 48).
>
> In 1984 U.S. Sen. Jake Garn had to defend his use of the expression in
> relation to Rev. Jesse Jackson's having gone to Syria to negotiate the
> release of Lt. Robert Goodman [likewise a Black man], imprisoned after his
> military plane was downed; [anon.], "'Call a Spade a Spade' Quip Defended by
> Utah Senator," _Globe and Mail_ 4 Jan. 1984.
>
> In the monograph I referred to earlier in this thread, Wolfgang Mieder,
> _"Call a Spade a Spade": From Classical Phrase to Racial Slur_ (NY: Lang,
> 2002), various such "insensitive" uses of the expression are
> reported--mostly not intended to be racist or racial but so interpreted (pp.
> 188-98).
>
> --Charlie
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