WEBVTT - From the Vault: Euphemisms 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:07.720 Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. My name 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:10.760 is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick and Oh Scissors. 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:13.400 It's Saturday. Time to go into the vault. This is 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:15.640 for a classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:20.880 from December of It's our episode on euphemisms. Yeah, this 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:22.720 is a really really neat one and if you haven't 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:24.919 heard this episode, uh, there's a lot more to it 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:28.200 than you might think. There's this drift that occurs, so 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:31.480 you know, obviously a euphemism is rolled out. Initially it's 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.280 kind of like a you know, a replacement for a 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:38.160 dirtier word or a less proper word. But then over 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.559 time the euphemism itself becomes the dirty word and and 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:44.880 new words have to have to be brought in to 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.319 replace it. Uh. So it's yeah, there's there's a lot 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:50.760 to unpack in this episode, and I think everyone can 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:55.240 relate to it. How come oh scissors never became super dirty? Yeah. 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:57.320 One that we use in my household a lot, and 0:00:57.360 --> 0:00:59.640 I forget who I stole this from or picked it 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:03.320 up from, is to just use the word cuss uh 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.320 in place of an actual cuss word. So you know, 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:09.000 I'll talk to the boy about how it's just hot 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:12.319 as a cuss out here, or you know, stuff like that, 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:15.640 which which is silly, but then it also runs so cute, cute, 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:17.800 but then it runs the risk in the long term 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.360 of like cuss will then absorb all of the need 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:26.160 negative energy and become like the foul word. Um so, uh, 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:29.280 that's the world we live in, all right, let's dive 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:35.399 right the cuss in. Welcome to Stuff to Blow your 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:44.720 Mind from how Stuff Works dot Com. Hey, welcome to 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:46.960 Stuff to Blow your Mind. My name is Robert Lamb 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:49.200 and I'm Joe McCormick. And Robert, I want to talk 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:54.560 about my favorite scene in the movie fram Stoker's Dracula, 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:57.160 directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Okay, well, there's never a 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:01.280 bad time to discuss, uh that, that particular interpretation of Dracula. 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:03.960 It is a great one, isn't it. It's like horrible, 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:07.960 but it's also great. It has some wonderful design in it. 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:10.600 I love the suit of armor, oh yeah, yeah, and 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:13.080 I love some of the painted backdrops and stuff. But 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:15.600 there's a great scene where so you know, the basic 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.639 story of Dracula, these characters are in I think late 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:23.160 Victorian England and Dracula. Count Dracula comes to England from 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:27.640 Transylvania and begins feeding on the locals in England. And uh, 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:31.600 there is the character Van Helsing, the Van vampire slayer 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.440 man of great Wisdom, and in the bram Stokers Dracula 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.720 France Ford coupla version he has played by Anthony Hopkins 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:43.520 in a wonderfully weird, hyperactive performance. Uh. And there's a 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:47.239 scene where the main character's friend Lucy has been turned 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:50.440 into a vampire by Count Dracula, and Van Helsing and 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:53.640 his associates have just come back from slaying the vampire 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.560 version of their friend Lucy, and the character Mina Harker 0:02:57.600 --> 0:02:59.919 played in the movie by Win Ower writer she asks 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.560 how did Lucy die? Was she in great pain? And 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.680 Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing says, yes, she was in 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:08.720 great pain. Then we cut off our head, drove a 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:10.480 stake through her heart and then burned it. And then 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:14.320 she found peace. And I always loved that because of 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.600 the last line at the end there and then she 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:22.560 found peace. Yeah, everything else is thoroughly non euphemistic, pretty straightforward. 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.160 These are the steps we took to to tear her 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:32.959 corpse apart to to kill her her undead, unnatural life. Right, 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:35.240 but then you have to end it with a euphemism, 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:39.680 So they they have these terms ready at hand. She 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.320 found peace, she passed on, she went to a better place. 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:47.400 These are the the friendly terms for death. He could 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:49.839 have just finished as he began by saying and then 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:54.680 she died screaming, but instead he uses the euphemism, and 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:58.120 then she found peace. And it's a great contrast. It's 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:01.400 it's why it's such a wonderful comic, man, But it 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:05.000 makes you aware of the absurdity of the euphemisms that 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:07.880 we use in everyday language. Yeah, I feel like in 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:10.320 researching this episode, we both had to do a lot 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:15.720 of self examination regarding our own use of euphemisms. Uh, 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:21.000 you know just how ubiquitous euphemistic language is. It's everywhere. 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.599 It's I bet it's half of all the talk you 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:28.080 do now. Of course, the concept of a euphemism is, 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:30.359 if you're not familiar with the word, it just means 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:35.240 using a friendlier or more acceptable term to express an 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:40.120 idea that for some reason is taboo or uncomfortable. Yeah, 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:44.479 it's interesting thinking about it in terms of having a 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:46.839 four and a half year old in the house because 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:49.280 he he does not have a really a great use 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:53.280 of euphemisms. Yet when he's very blunt, right when he'll 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:55.680 be eating dinner and he'll say I need to go poop, 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:58.880 I'll be right back. He'll he'll even lay out a 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.320 detailed plan. I'm going to go poop and wash my 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:03.120 hands and I'm gonna come back and then I'm gonna 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:05.680 fish eater. And wouldn't it be great if we could 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:08.320 do that during dinner party? Yeah? No, No, Like if 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.960 an adult did that, you would just think they'd lost 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:14.640 their mind or just we're the most uncouth firson imaginable, right, 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:19.479 But but a child is completely free of this. But yeah, 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.320 we would use euphemism. We would say I'm need to 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:25.160 go use the restroom, I'm going to go make use 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:29.039 of the laboratory, or maybe we visit the water closet, yeah, like, 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.480 or even I'm going to step out. Yeah, I'm I'm 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:33.560 gonna Well that that's a weird. I've never heard anyone 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:35.440 use that I'm going to step out, Like, what are 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.560 you going to do if you're gonna step out? I 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:40.520 don't know, I mean, obviously something you don't want to 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:44.000 talk about. Um. Yeah, I tend to fall back on 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.360 I'm gonna go visit the restroom, or I'm gonna use 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:48.719 the rest room and I'll be right back visit like 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:50.839 you're gonna have some quality time. Well, I'm keeping it 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:52.359 vague as to what. I'm not going to give you 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:54.960 the particulars of what's going to happen. Maybe I'm just 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:56.920 washing my hands, maybe I need to blow my nose, 0:05:57.080 --> 0:05:59.479 might just stare in the mirror without blinking. Yeah, but 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:01.720 I'm not gonna say I'm gonna go poop and then 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:05.960 I will return. I bet there's a lot of stuff 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:07.520 when you have a kid in the house that you 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.680 have to do euphemistically that you you're used to talking 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:14.720 more bluntly, maybe with your spouse or partner, but but 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.240 once a kid comes along, you can't say everything the 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:19.840 way you used to. Well, it's interesting. There's a lot 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.600 of there's a lot of back and forth too with 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:28.600 kids regarding especially euphemisms regarding the human body, because some 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:32.240 parents will will fall into this habit of using like 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:38.279 cutes here less uh less accurate terminology for parts of 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:41.880 the body, particularly genitalia, which I always find creepy. When 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:43.640 I hear no offense to parents who do that. I'm 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:47.200 not actually judging you. I'm that's just my instinctual reaction 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:52.720 hearing like pp and stuff. It always sounds like, yeah, yeah, 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:54.640 we try not to do that in our house. I 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:57.400 mean that everyone everyone can, you know, do their own 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:59.520 thing by all means. But yeah, we try and say, 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:05.479 all right, enis testicles, um, et cetera. Because you know, 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:07.960 I feel it's important for them to have an accurate 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.640 understanding of their body and then to be able to 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:15.600 describe their body, uh seriously to say, you know a physician. Yeah, 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:17.560 if they needed to talk to a doctor, they would 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.640 need the correct terms. Yeah. But but that's an area 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.680 where in parenting circles people kind of go on your 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:26.200 arguments on both sides. Do you do you ever find 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:29.040 yourself like wanting to curse in front of the child, 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:32.000 but you have to find another word? Oh yeah, all 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:36.440 the time. Sometimes I don't find that other word. Um uh. 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:40.640 This morning, even driving through traffic, and my son reminded me, said, 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.080 they can't hear you. I guess that other drivers cannot 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.000 hear me. That is a perceptive kid. Yeah, but but 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.640 I try, I do try and use certain euphemisms or 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:52.160 just it's almost easier for me to just come up 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.440 with a nonsense word, so referring to other drivers as 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.480 dumbledoors or calling them crab drivers or something like that. 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:01.920 Crab drivers. That's because they're kind of scuttling around back 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:04.320 and forth, side to side instead of going in straight lines. 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.920 Uh Like, I find that easier to do, because sometimes 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:11.800 it's difficult to make a euphemism stick, because if I'm 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:15.679 if I'm really irritated with another driver, my brain really 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:19.480 wants to use, uh, the the F word or or 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.000 the or the S word, or one of these more 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:27.000 actually profane words from a vocabulary. And there's something about 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:30.920 a watered down version of it just will not suit. Yeah, 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:33.840 it seems to have a power, almost a magical power. 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:36.720 And I think maybe that goes back to some deeply 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.840 rooted part of the cursed tradition in our brains, where 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.120 you know, thousands of years ago, somebody issues a curse, 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.000 they think that that has power. I think it's actually 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.400 doing something. Yeah, the thing gang is not gonna not 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:52.840 gonna got not gonna do. It's not gonna suit. Fudge 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:55.920 is not gonna work. So euphemisms in our house. Uh, 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:58.480 my wife Rachel and I get a lot of enjoyment 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:02.600 out of talking about our dog in un euphemistic terms 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:06.720 when people normally would. So one example, when our dog's 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:09.280 legs and jaws are jerking in his sleep, you know 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:11.600 he's having a little doggie dreams. I think many dog 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:13.960 owners would be inclined to say, oh, he's dreaming about 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:17.680 chasing something, but we would say, oh, he's dreaming about killing, 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:23.760 which he is. He's definitely dreaming about killing little animals. Yeah, 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:26.559 that's that's that, that's true. Yeah, I guess I do 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.920 a certain amount of that with our our pet as well. 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:32.320 I'll give one more example though about about raising a 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:37.440 child and euphemisms, is that sometimes you still do not 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:42.120 succeed in really driving home the names for things, and 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:47.520 without the proper term, sometimes the like the children's name 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.280 for it is going to be totally even more unsuitable. 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:54.320 So I don't think I drove home properly. You know 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:57.880 what the anus is to my son, And so one 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.360 day we had some people guess to the house and 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:02.319 this is something he hadn't even met before. But he 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:04.880 walks outside, just got it from the nap, and he 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:09.200 proudly announces quote, uh, it itches where poop comes out 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:12.880 on my bum and uh, and I think, arguably, like this, 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:15.280 this is a more uncouth statement. Grantedies four and a half, 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.000 so nobody cares, but still it would be more accurate 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:20.559 to say my anus itches. Right. But in a way 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:23.960 what he said was euphemism. Really it's an anti euphemism, 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:25.720 and we'll get into that in a in a bit. 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:29.120 The the euphemism is actually cuter there in the situation 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:32.280 where a kid says it. If the kid had said anus, 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:35.200 that might have been weirder. Yeah, But if an adult 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:38.000 had said it itches on my bum where poop comes out, 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:41.720 then that, you know, you would call the authorities exactly. Okay, 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.880 So uh, let's zoom in on the concept of the 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:49.439 euphemism and try to figure out what it does, what 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:52.520 is its role in language apart from the obvious. Now, 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.840 we we did say that it's essentially a nice word. 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:58.760 It's a word that takes the place of a word that, 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:03.720 for some reason is is inappropriate offensive. Uh, something people 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.200 don't want to say or think about. Maybe that conjures 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:08.839 up too concreteive an image. Yeah, I mean, on the 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:11.720 surface of things, it's don't say that, say this, but 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.439 of course it's it's more than that. A euphemism has 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:16.920 the power to alter the meaning of the word, or 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:19.199 at least the spirit and tone of the word. Right. 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.440 It's like a black and white image versus a colorized image. 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:28.240 Euphemisms allow us to colorize our our linguistic choices to 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.640 a certain extent. And I think we can all think 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:34.240 of various examples where a euphemism simultaneously makes a word 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:37.280 less offensive and and yet creep here at the same time, 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:40.720 such as many of these genitalia euphemisms that we've been 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:44.640 discussing exactly Yeah pp hearing an adult say it, it's 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:50.080 creepy even rhymes. Yeah, I would say most genitalia euphemisms, uh, 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.640 kind of sound like that they have this this this 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.880 vibe of being at one point they're they're deflecting us 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:59.160 from the thing we're talking about, and yet colorize it 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.440 in a way that is is tasteful. Okay, So there 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.840 are a bunch of different ways that you can come 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.640 up with the euphemism, right like you you can put 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:09.560 it together in several ways. There's a word that people 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:13.480 have instinctually felt somehow they want to start avoiding saying, 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:17.320 but they still need the concept in everyday language. You 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:19.320 still have to be able to refer to the thing 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:22.400 the word refers to somehow, so you've got to come 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:24.600 up with a different word. So where do these different 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.319 words come from? Well, you can of course really go 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:30.559 down the rabbit hole figuring out what sort of euphemisms 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.079 are doing what. But here are some of the basic 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:38.040 classifications to consider. There's a term of foreign origin, okay, 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:42.600 like a dairy air or copulation urination. You're using a 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:47.440 more elegant and uh and in foreign term for what 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.120 you're talking about. In English, a lot of times the 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:54.040 euphemisms kind of come from Latin constructions more so than 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:58.559 from the Anglo Saxon constructions, where the the short straightforward 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:02.160 word sounds kind of rude and concrete, and that the 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:06.120 Latin origin word sounds more abstract and less like it 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:10.560 less it's less likely to conjure an image. Another example 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:14.439 is abbreviations, for instance S O B or food bar. 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:20.400 These are both examples where we we simply abbreviate a 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.559 a phrase that would otherwise be offensive to some right, 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.120 and I guess in most cases you would still consider 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:31.000 the abbreviation somewhat offensive, but maybe less so you uh, 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:32.880 the one I like you made the note of this, 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.600 but I like the idea of using really vague abstractions 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:42.400 such as doing it, doing it or um. The source 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:45.880 I was looking at mentioned like situation, like just referring 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:49.440 to the such and such situation. One that always has 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:54.040 annoyed me is the situation the situation room? Like what 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:57.040 what situation is the room for? Is it a war room? 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.120 Because if it's a war room, let's call it a 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.040 war room. Is it an emergency room? Is it let's 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:04.480 let's call it what it is? The situation room could 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:08.000 be about anything, okay. There would also be the concept 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:10.840 of just saying that you don't want to say a thing, 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:15.480 essentially like unmentionables. Yes, he who should not be named 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:19.360 right for Lord Voldemort. Uh. And then there of course 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:24.480 mispronunciations like freaking or god. I guess is gosh darn it? 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.920 One is replacing God with gosh? Does that work? I 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:32.760 guess it could be like gold gold darn't gold? Aren't it? 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:36.280 That would be one? Yeah? And then their plays on abbreviation, 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:41.160 which I really hadn't thought much of, but bull roar 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:43.960 is one that we actually used recently in talking about 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:49.480 bs or just to go ahead and bleet meum a bullet, right, 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.160 But I don't think I've ever used barbecue sauce. I 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:54.600 saw that one listed as well. Where'd you see that? 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:56.560 It was in one of the papers so that we 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.360 were looking at they mentioned barbecues. So I would like 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.360 to hear from anyone who who says that's just the 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.960 load of barbecue sauce. Barbecue has never heard that. It 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.920 must be a regional, regional thing. What kind of barbecue sauce, 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:10.960 especially if it's regional North Carolina, South Carolina, I don't know. 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:14.080 Or beasting. Beasting would be a good one. Oh is 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:16.320 that actually used? No? I just made that up. I 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:18.480 was trying to think, what what what could you that's 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:22.320 even that even has some of the same consonants in it. Yeah, um, 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:25.880 how about malarkey or maybe malarkey? Is malarkey actually more 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:29.360 offensive in in its origin? And we're just it's one 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:31.360 of these things where we don't know what it means anymore. 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:33.440 I have no idea where it comes from. It would 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:35.560 be horrible to go look that up later and find 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:39.040 out it's a deeply offensive term yeah, And you know, 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:41.280 I feel like that happens a time or two as well. 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.240 We we have something we think is is a euphemism, 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:48.640 but in reality we're just using a far more offensive 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.600 term than that fewer people are familiar with. Okay, But 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:55.040 so when you use euphemisms, how however you form the 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:59.160 new phrase or the new word, you're essentially doing maybe 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:02.320 three different kind of things, right, Yeah, when you bust 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:07.200 out euphemism, you may be employing what is called circumlocution 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:11.240 to to speak around that which cannot be said, ye, circumlocution, 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:14.800 And that's something we often use in a non euphemistic 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:16.880 way to like, we use it when we're speaking a 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.280 language we're not very familiar with. If you've ever tried 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:22.520 to speak another language, you often don't have the word 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:26.360 for a thing, so instead you circumlocute, You say a 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:29.880 bunch of things that are sort of explaining the concept 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.760 of the word to try to get to it. But 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:34.760 this would be a case where you do the same 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:36.920 thing not because you don't have the word, but because 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.080 you don't want to use the word. Yeah. And another 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:43.400 example would be a taboo deformation. So we're just we're 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:46.800 altering the spelling or pronunciation of of that which cannot 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:51.520 be said, So go fudge yourself, um you mother effort. 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:54.760 That would be an example of of the use of taboo, 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:58.000 defamation or gold aren't yeah called aren't it? We're just 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:01.480 take like thinking, think of the obscenity. Is this clay object, 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:04.880 and we're just wrenching it into a less profane shape, 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:07.920 but we still know what its original shape was. It's 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.480 still it's still echoes that form enough for us to 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.639 use it, albeit in a blunted form. Yeah, And I 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.680 guess the other main thing would be sort of robbing 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:23.639 the word of its power to conjure imagery. Yeah, double speak, right, um, 0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:26.720 making neutral the awful. I think one of the best 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:30.040 examples of this is to say, uh, the enemy combatant 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.800 was neutralized, which sounds far nicer than we We shot 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.560 Rolf to death and his his family will be without him. Now. 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:41.320 You know, Rolf was hit with an explosive that resulted 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:46.840 in complete body deft defragmentation, which I guess is that'd 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:49.120 be sort of that's kind of a euthanism as well, right, 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.560 but yeah, defragmentation, what would it be? Rolf was hit 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:58.480 by an explosion that severed many arteries. Yes, but you know, 0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:00.280 it's not that funny. I don't know why, I'm no, no no, 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:02.159 but it's kind of getting it as we try to 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:06.200 to dance around Rolf's death, and he even discussed more 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.960 accurately what happened to Rolf. Are some things in life 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:13.520 almost like too dreadful, Like there's there's no way that language, 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:19.119 at least brief language, can accurately describe something that that 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:21.920 is that horrible. I don't know, I mean, it's interesting 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:25.240 to look at the general categories of things that we 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.520 have euphemisms for. It's not just arbitrary. It's like, it's 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:31.399 not like we just have euphemisms for anything. We have 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:35.960 euphemisms usually for terms having to do with the inevitable 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:41.760 processes of the human body, like like elimination of waste, uh, 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:45.320 sex and death. Those those are the big things that 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:49.640 you have euphemisms for, but also for culturally sensitive issues 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:53.719 like you know, for names of marginalized groups that are 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:58.800 discriminated against or something like that. Yeah, and uh, you know, 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:01.440 as well as the the way these things are shadowed. 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:05.360 And certainly as there's a whole area of business euphemism 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:09.240 to discussed discussed as well, oh absolutely, yeah. Of course, 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:12.359 we have a number of different euphemisms to to to 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.679 refer to firing someone, which is kind of the workplace 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:18.879 version of death right we have. For instance, you may 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:24.200 have heard about layoffs, downsizing, right sizing. That's like, that's 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:27.280 a euphemism on top of a euphemism like downsizing. That's 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:29.679 you know, we're not downsizing, we're right sizing. We're just 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:33.359 we're just making the organization the correct size for what 0:19:33.400 --> 0:19:37.440 we're doing here. Head count adjustment or head count reduction 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:42.560 uh an r I F or reduction enforce a realignment. 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:47.520 These are also so fabulous, wonderful terms that allow UH 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:51.160 management to do horrible things to people's lives. The words 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:54.320 about feeling bad about it. The worst is let go. 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:58.320 It's like you're free. Oh yeah, we had we had 0:19:58.359 --> 0:19:59.720 to let We had to let you go. You should 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:03.520 be making us right. I think, maybe more than anywhere 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:06.320 else I go in in my life, the business world 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:11.159 is absolutely built out of euphemism. So I think a 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:14.560 reason for this might be that the business relationship is 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:19.320 essentially a cutthroat relationship most of the time. If employers 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:22.679 can scam customers or employees out of another nickel and 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:25.000 get away with it and keep making money. They will 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:27.960 do it most of the time, and vice versa. You know, 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:31.400 every everybody in the business relationship is trying to get 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:34.560 an extra nickel and and give as little as they 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:38.040 can for it. But at the same time, customers and 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:41.399 employers and employees interact with one another all the time. 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:44.200 You have to see your employer on a regular basis. 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:47.119 I mean most people do. Uh, So they want to 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:49.760 have pleasant relationships with the people they interact with. So 0:20:49.840 --> 0:20:53.280 you kind of live in this state of denial about 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:58.160 the heartless, cutthroat principle at the foundation of your work relationships. 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:01.280 And it's weird trying to be friendly with your boss 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:03.120 when you're thinking about the fact that your boss could 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:05.680 fire you at any time, and in some places, for 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:09.440 any reason. So we we sort of pack our business 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:14.320 lives with euphemisms to avoid thinking about this cutthroat reality. 0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:17.119 In addition to the euphemisms for firing. One thing I 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:19.439 was thinking about was, Robert, have you ever noticed that, 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:22.440 at least in my experience, maybe in years two, businesses 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:27.800 seem to never want to talk about quote money. Oh yeah, yeah, 0:21:27.960 --> 0:21:30.560 So maybe I'm imagining this, but it seems like money, 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:34.639 it's always removed to one higher level of abstraction, like 0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:39.440 revenue or returns or something like that. Uh. And it's 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:43.399 as if talking about money directly would reveal that the 0:21:43.440 --> 0:21:46.880 whole enterprise is kind of tacky at its core, or 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:51.600 you know, not only revenue but rev ev share, Like 0:21:51.640 --> 0:21:53.399 that's the term that is thrown around a lot in 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:56.160 our industry now. And yet you talk about rev share 0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:58.159 then it's just an item on on a sheet. But 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:00.360 if you say, I want you to give me more 0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:02.119 of some of the money that you're getting for the 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:04.080 thing that I'm making for you so that you can 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:07.720 make money, uh, then it gets a little less tidy, right, 0:22:07.880 --> 0:22:11.600 It's like, why are you making it like that? It's 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:14.960 like you've said something really mean when you're just saying 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:18.440 in direct terms what you're talking about. Yeah. I often 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:22.200 think about you know, we we've already the studies in 0:22:22.560 --> 0:22:26.800 terms of businesses where corporations are essentially psychopaths. I often, 0:22:27.040 --> 0:22:28.479 and I often think of it in terms of like 0:22:28.880 --> 0:22:34.359 artificial intelligence, uh, beings than various cyberpunk stories. So a 0:22:34.359 --> 0:22:38.159 corporation is essentially this this demon, and this demon is 0:22:38.200 --> 0:22:43.200