early euphemism of the year candidate--"artificial calamari"

[Benjamin Barrett]

Of course, "calamari" is a euphemism for "squid." Arguably, "ika" is, too, though usage is restricted to sushi and sashimi contexts and is probably more a sushiphile word than a euphemism per se.

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

On Jan 20, 2013, at 8:12 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:

> …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

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