How Not To Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms

525 Pages·2007·13.486 MB·English

by  R. W. Holder

OXFORD
How Not To Say
What You Mean
A Dictionary of Euphemisms
R. W. H O L D ER
'A browser's delight' Reference Review
How Nut To Su> What Vow Mean unmasks the language >>t hypocrisy,
evasion, prudery, and deceit. This hugely entertaining collection
highlights our tendency to use mild, vague, or roundabout expressions
in preference to words that are precise, blunt, and often uncomfortably
accurate
Entries, drawn from all aspects of life: work, sexuality, aye, money, and
politics, provide the red meaning tor well-known phrases such as above
your ceiling, gardening leave, rest and recreation, count the daisies,
God's waiting room, washed up, and fact-finding mission.
Review.s of the previous editions
'This ingenious collection is not only very tunny but extremely
Iris Murdoch
instructive too
'A most valuable and splendidlv presented collection; at once
scholarly, tasteful, and witty.' I-ord Quirk
'Your complete guide to every euphemism you could ever wan! to
know and many you would rather not' Daily Wail
ISBN 0-19-860402-5
OXPORD
UNIVhRS! IV PRESS
780198 604020
www.oup.com I9RRP $18.95 '.
Having seen something written by Bob Holder
as a schoolboy, T. S. Eliot remarked Thar boy
loves words'. This love oï language underlies
this new edition of A Dictionary of Euphemisms.
Bob has lived in West Monkton, near Taunton,
since 1951. He has worked for manufacturing
companies in Ireland, Belgium, and North
America in addition to those in the United
Kingdom and has also held a number of public
appointments. From 1974 to 1984 he was
Treasurer of the University of Bath and
remained a Pro-Chancellor until 1997.
From its first appearance in 1987 as A
Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms,
Boh Holder's work has been the standard refer
ence hook tor those studying the language of
evasion and understatement. This new edition,
renamed / low Not To Say What You Mean, has
been completely rewritten. It retains old
favourites while adding over a thousand new
entries, which reflect modern euphemistic terms
on such issues as marriage, race, homosexuality,
drug-taking, and security ol employment.
The quotations which accompany entries are
both illustrative and interesting in their own
right. Where appropriate, the etymology of a
term is explained, giving a philological insight
into this universally used, hut little studied,
branch of our language.
Jacket design: Simon Levy
Jacket illustration: Photodisc
How Not To Say What You Mean
A Dictionary of Euphemisms
Reviews of previous editions
'A most valuable and splendidly presented collection; at once
scholarly, tasteful, and witty.' Lord Quirk
'Euphemists are a lively, inventive, self-regarding and bumptious
bunch. Holder goes among them with an etymological glint in his
eye.' lain Finlayson, Financial Times
'this fascinating book... don't put this dictionary in the loo -there's
another euphemism for you - or else guests will never come out. It's
unputdownable once you open it.' Peter Mullen, Yorkshire Post
'Concise, well-organized entries' Library Journal (USA)
'I am astonished at its depth and wit' Sam Allen (American
lawyer and philologist)
'This bran tub of linguistic gems... A delight for browsers
who love the vivid oddities of language... a valuable
collection.' City Limits
'A very funny collection' Financial Times
'Many printable gems' Daily Telegraph
'Good bedside reading' Sunday Telegraph
'It will surely take its place... as a browser's delight and it will
entertain book lovers for many hours, whilst at the same
time providing useful background information, as well as
instruction and clarification to many.' Reference Review
'An informative, amusing collection' The Observer
'Hugely enjoyable and cherishable' Times Educational
Supplement
'Lovers of word play will have a field day' Herald Express,
Torquay
'Excellent, informative, entertaining.' Wilson Literary Bulletin
(USA)
'Great fun, but not for the maiden aunt.' Sunday Telegraph
How Not To Say What You Mean
A Dictionary of Euphemisms
R. W. HOLDER
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6DP
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Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press
in the UK and in certain other countries
Published in the United States
by Oxford University Press Inc., New York
C: R. W. Holder 1995, 2002
The moral rights of the auther have been asserted
Database right Oxford University Press (maker)
First published as A Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms by Bath University Press 1987
Revised edition published by Faber and Faber Limited 1989
Second edition first published as A Dictionary of Euphemisms by Oxford University Press 1995,
and in paperback 1996
This third edition first published as How Not to Say What You Mean:
A Dictionary of Euphemisms in 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press,
or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate
reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction
outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department,
Oxford University Press, at the address above
You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Holder, R. W.
How not to say what you mean: a dictionary of euphemisms / R. W. Holder.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
ISBN 0-19-860402-5
1. English language-Euphemism-Dictionaries. 2. English language-Synonyms and antonyms.
3. English language-Terms and Phrases. 4. Vocabulary. I. Title.
PE1449 .H548 2002
423M-dc21
2002074261
ISBN 0-19-860402-5
10 98765432
Typeset in 7.5/8.5pt OUP Swift Light by Kolam Information Services Pvt. Ltd, Pondicherry, India
Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic
Contents
An Explanation vi
Bibliography X
1
A Dictionary of Euphemisms
Thematic Index 449
An Explanation
W
hen I started gathering euphemisms in 1977 with a
dictionary in mind, nothing similar had been pub-
lished. I was free to choose the form the collection
should take, to speculate on the etymology, and to lay down the
criteria for entry or rejection. It was not, I felt, a subject to be taken
too seriously, considering the ridiculous nature of many of the
euphemisms we use in everyday speech.
I accepted Fowler's definition: 'Euphemism means the use of
a mild or vague or periphrastic expression as a substitute for blunt
precision or disagreeable use' (Modern English Usage, 1957). A
second test soon emerged: that the euphemistic word or phrase
once meant, or prima facie still means, something else. Because
many euphemisms have become such a part of standard English
that we think only of the current usage, I sometimes remind the
reader of what the word means literally, or used to mean.
In speech and writing, we use euphemism when dealing
with taboo or sensitive subjects. It is therefore also the language of
evasion, of hypocrisy, of prudery, and of deceit. Fewer than one in a
hundred of the entries in the Dictionary cannot be classified under a
specific heading shown in the Thematic Index. Some of the entries
may be judged by the reader to be dysphemisms, or neither euphem-
ism or dysphemism. The selection is of necessity subjective, and
there may also be cases where one woman's euphemism is another
man's dysphemism. With regard to inclusive language, for the sake
of brevity I stay with the old, politically incorrect rule that the use of
the masculine pronoun may, where appropriate, also include the
feminine.
I have left out anything which does not feature in literary or
common use, unless it adds to our understanding of how language
evolves. I also omit anything which I have only found in another
dictionary. Inevitably, living in England and having worked during
the past quarter century mainly there and in Ireland, the selection
reflects the speech on this side of the Atlantic, despite my frequent