[Ads-l] DPR--candidate for "most euphemistic"?

[Laurence Horn]

> On Jun 11, 2015, at 12:04 PM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 10:48 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>> 
>> DPR (direct potable reuse)
>> 
>> [for the practice of recycling waste water into drinking water under
>> consideration in drought-stricken California]
>> cf. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cnbc.com_id_102589492&d=AwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=br83XzeCC6m7Lt56Sf8ghUEVNiBBu5y2ohlB4WWKSuI&s=zY4Xk_UZ3yMFriUJmCwPmxlo1UvVgbWseeE8OTg0Z88&e= 
>> 
>> The non-euphemistic but perhaps somewhat misleading name for the process
>> is "toilet to tap", but the method of conversion does include
>> intermediate steps rather than, say, a hose directly linking the former
>> to the latter.
> 
> Relevant clip from last night's "Daily Show" (about 2 minutes in):

Yup, that's where I learned about it.
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__thedailyshow.cc.com_videos_hkjwb4_california-2Ddry&d=AwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=br83XzeCC6m7Lt56Sf8ghUEVNiBBu5y2ohlB4WWKSuI&s=wCoEyar5PvPrNvdlzBTUkOa4bdKAk-TOTJ-iDJEEZfU&e= 
> 
>> What makes "DPR" especially congenial is that it only gets you to the
>> euphemism indirectly, in the plain-brown-wrapper tradition of "E.D.",
>> "STD"/"STI" (or the earlier "VD"), "P.E.", "B.O."
> 
> Or, indeed, the 2014 winner for Most Euphemistic, "EIT" (for "enhanced
> interrogation technique").

D'oh!  I knew there was another recent one I was forgetting.  (I even brought up that plain-brown-wrapper cover via initials to support EIT's candidacy during the WOTY floor debate in Minneapolis.

LH
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