Political dysphemisms

[Herb Stahlke]

I agree.  I think I gave in to the function of both in political
discourse, namely, to dupe.

Herb

On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 8:39 PM, Laurence Horn<laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Political dysphemisms
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 6:30 PM -0400 8/16/09, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>I thought dysphemisms and euphemisms were different.
>>
>>JL
>
> I was just about to wonder the same thing.  "Partial birth abortion"
> is presumably a dysphemism, as is "death tax".  "Clear skies
> initiative" and "healthy forests initiative" are clearly *euphemisms*.
>
> LH
>
>
>
>>On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 5:25 PM, Julia Achenbach <
>>julia.achenbach at uni-oldenburg.de> wrote:
>>
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>>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>  Poster:       Julia Achenbach <julia.achenbach at UNI-OLDENBURG.DE>
>>>  Subject:      Re: Political dysphemisms
>>>
>>>
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>  Cronies, stupidity tax, regime, idiot box.
>>>
>>>  - Julia
>>>
>>>  > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>  > -----------------------
>>>  > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>  > Poster:       Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
>>>  > Subject:      Re: Political dysphemisms
>>>  >
>>>
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>  >
>>>  > And maybe the most successful of them all, "partial birth abortion."
>>>  >
>>>  > On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 5:09 PM, Herb Stahlke<hfwstahlke at gmail.com>
>>>  wrote:
>>>  >> Bush's "Clear Skies Initiative" and "Healthy Forests Initiative."
>>>  >>
>>>  >> Herb
>>>  >>
>>>  >> On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 3:59 PM, Baker, John<JMB at stradley.com> wrote:
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>>>  >>> -----------------------
>>>  >>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>  >>> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
>>>  >>> Subject:      Re: Political dysphemisms
>>>  >>>
>>>
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>  >>>
>>>  >>>        "Star wars," for President Reagan's Strategic Defense
>>>  >>> Initiative, comes to mind.  This one was particularly successful,
>>>  >>> receiving widespread use in mainstream media.
>>>  >>>
>>>  >>>
>>>  >>> John Baker
>>>  >>>
>>>  >>>
>>>  >>> -----Original Message-----
>>>  >>> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
>>>  >>> Behalf
>>>  >>> Of Mark Peters
>>>  >>> Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 11:25 AM
>>>  >>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>>  >>> Subject: Political dysphemisms
>>>  >>>
>>>  >>> I'm writing about politically motivated dysphemisms this week: terms
>>>  >>> like death panel, death tax, and terrorist fist jab. I'm sure I'm
>>>  >>> missing a lot. Any suggestions?
>>>  >>>
>>>  >>> Mark
>>>  >>>
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>>>  >>
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>>>
>>>  --
>>>  "He, who lives upon hope, will die farting"
>>>  [allegedly] Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
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>>
>>
>>
>>--
>>"There You Go Again...Using Reason on the Planet of the Duck-Billed
>>Platypus"
>>
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