Puritan euphemisms (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Yes.

JL

On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 11:22 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: Puritan euphemisms (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
>
> >
> > What this seems to mean is that everyday conversation in the 18th C.
> > must have sounded far more "modern" in certain ways [note weaseling]
> > than the written record might suggest
> >
> > (Of course that's always the case.)
> >
>
> So, what, did Arthur Dimmesdale walk up to Hester Prynne and say, "what
> up, bitch?"
>
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org