The Wordsworth Book of Euphemism

by Judith S. Neaman, Carole G. Silver, Neaman & Silver

A euphemism is a milder term for the crude, offensive, embarrassing or unpleasant. Among the areas covered by this work are such things as bodily functions, nudity, drinking habits, political gobbledygook, death and sex.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

371 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Professor emerita of English, Yeshiva University (New York City, N.Y.).

Reviews

[Judity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know calling a person an Irving meant you thought he was boring? How about knowing a ten o'clock scholar was a lazy or tardy person?

These are just a couple of the polite ways to characterize people without actually insulting them. There are many more in this fun and educational book.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the etymology potpourri here: Brit rhyming slang, books and other media, etc. This is also the first place I have seen explaining 'Rainy Day Woman' without reference to the Dylan song "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35". That entry is a good example of the feel, where related words are brought in contexually:

RAINY DAY WOMAN, A

A marijuana cigarette. Marijuana cigarettes, one of the most popular forms of the drug, have many names. In older parlance they were REEFERS, DREAM STICKS, TEA STICKS, JOY STICKS (hence, J-STICKS and J. SMOKES), GIGGLE STICKS or GIGGLE SMOKES, ROCKETS, TWISTS, DUBBYS, DUBES, and GYVES. Among their more interesting species are MEZZROLE or MIGHTY MEZZ, a potent marijuana cigarette named after Mezz Mezzrow, a jazz musician notorious for both smoking and selling them Milder cigarettes, SPLIFFS, may be made by mixing marijuana and regular tobacco. Then they are known as COCKTAILS, STRAIGHTS, SLIMS and, somewhat pejoratively, SQUARES since they are not "hip." Large marijuana cigarettes are called THUMBS, and partially smoked or shared cigarettes are known as BURNIES. The butt of A REEFER is popularly called A ROACH and is held in AN AIRPLANE or ROACH CLIP. A brew made from the seeds and stalks of marijuana after it has been MANICURED (cleansed of them) is known as POT LIQUOR. When a user wants to BLOW A STICK (have a smoke), he may well go to A BALLROOM, PARACHUTE (1940s), BALLOON ROOM or A SPOT (1980s), that is, an illegal HEAD SHOP (a store for selling drug paraphernalia) or apartment where fellow users gather to smoke. He hopes that he will not end up getting the opposite of such famous high quality blends as ACAPULCO GOLD and have to suffer with LIPTON TEA (a poor quality of the drug; see also NIXON).