early euphemism of the year candidate--"artificial calamari" (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Isn't this all just a fancy way to market chitlins?


> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Laurence Horn
> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 11:26 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: early euphemism of the year candidate--"artificial
> calamari" (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
---------------
> --------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: early euphemism of the year candidate--"artificial
> calamari"
>               (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
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> --------
>
> On Jan 22, 2013, at 11:51 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> > I agree. "Artificial calamari" says it's fake right there in the
> name.
> >
> > What kind of euphemism is that?
> >
> > JL
>
> Ok, I withdraw the nomination. I probably should have gone with
> "calamari", which is presumably when the pig bung would actually
appear
> as on the menu when you're ordering it, just as artificial crabmeat (=
> surimi) generally still gets sold as "crab" at sushi joints, some of
> which do also offer "real crabmeat" sushi at a somewhat higher price.
> In grocery stores, the "artificial" would need to be specified.  In
> fact, I wouldn't see "artificial crab(meat)" as a euphemism, since
> one's natural assumption would be that it refers to a fish product, as
> it does (pollock, usually, IIRC).  But no one not in the know would
> suspect that "artificial calamari" comes from a pig, much less from
the
> designated part of one.
>
> LH
>
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 10:36 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: early euphemism of the year
candidate--"artificial
> >> calamari"
> >>              (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >>
> >>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> >> ----------
> >>
> >> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> >> Caveats: NONE
> >>
> >> Doesn't a euphemism have to have an acknowledged subtext?  For
> >> example, if I say goshdarn, most people would recognize that it is
> in
> >> lieu of Goddamn.  But I get the impression that customers who buy
> >> artificial calamari don't know that they are getting the south end
> of
> >> a northbound pig.
> >>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> >>> Behalf Of Laurence Horn
> >>> Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2013 10:13 AM
> >>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >>> Subject: early euphemism of the year candidate--"artificial
> calamari"
> >>>
> >>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> ---------------
> >>> --------
> >>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> >>> Subject:      early euphemism of the year candidate--"artificial
> >>> calamari"
> >>>
> >>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> >> --
> >>> --------
> >>>
> >>> ...as a label for pig bung.  No, not pork bun as so labeled at
your
> >>> neighborhood Asian market, but hog rectum--bleached, sliced, deep
> >>> fried, and served up with lemon.  It's not clear how much of this
> is
> >>> available for your domestic consumption, however.  More at
> >>>
> >>> http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-
> >>> archives/episode/484/doppelgangers?act=1
> >>>
> >>> To connect this with a recent thread, note the eloquent
explanation
> >> for
> >>> the resistance to the idea of pig bung in calamari clothing.
After
> >>> noting the possibility of being put off by either "the visual"
> >>> associated with hog rectum or the fact that some would-be calamari
> >>> eaters wouldn't want to find out they were eating "pork, period".
> >>> Ira Glass brings up there's the linguistic factor. As Farmer Ron
> >>> from Missouri drawls at around 10:15 of the above, "Just because
of
> >>> the
> >> word
> >>> 'bung', probably. I mean, people don't just want to jump and say
> >>> 'Man, I'm gonna eat me some bung tonight'. I mean, y'know, that's
> >>> just the way it is."  (The transcript doesn't do justice to the
> >>> delivery.)
> >>>
> >>> We've come a long way from "skim milk masquerades as cream", baby!
> >>>
> >>> LH
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
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> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> 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."
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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