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How Not to Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms (Oxford Paperback Reference)
 
 

How Not to Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms (Oxford Paperback Reference) (Hardcover)

by R.W. Holder (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 528 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; 3rd Revised edition edition (Oct 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0198604025
  • ISBN-13: 978-0198604020
  • Product Dimensions: 20.7 x 13.4 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 795,328 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #96 in  Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauri > Thesauri
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Product Description
This re-named edition of "A Dictionary of Euphemisms" is full of old favourites, such as "early bath" or "push up the daisies", as well as euphemisms from modern times, like "human sacrifice" and "coffee-housing". Definitions include examples from real authors, along with historical explanations of origins, and now obsolete euphemisms like "leaping house", "nightingale" are signposted as such. To prove that the use of euphemisms is not just a British speciality, there is widespread coverage of American euphemisms too: "English" (pertaining to sexual deviance), and "watermelon" (an indication of pregnancy) are two examples.

About the Author
R. W. Holder is the director of numerous companies, speaks several languages, and travels widely. He is also the author of Thinking About Management (Warner, 1994).

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How Not to Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms (Oxford Paperback Reference)
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How Not to Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms (Oxford Paperback Reference) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
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Dictionary of Euphemisms (Oxford Paperback Reference)
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent way of bleaching the air, 16 Sep 2008
By Wayne Redhart "Also on Twitter!" (West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
Much as would I hate to be witnessed speaking ill of my good lady wife, if there's one thing that has had occasion to trouble me about the dumpy old tart, it would have to be her revolting tongue. For many years, I found myself having to insist that she wash her mouth out with soap and water on a near-daily basis (although in the 90s we discovered that mouthwash and tongue-scrapers provide a far more efficient way of removing the thick fur that was causing her halitosis). Anyhow, putting issues of oral hygiene to one side for now, I'm sorry to say that Doreen's use of language is also something that can be frightfully repellent.

Before we were married, my wife-to-be had always seemed like the ultimate model (not in the catwalk sense, by any means!) of purity and innocence. You can probably imagine just how shocked I was when she set about mouthing me off on our wedding night! Pleasant surprises aside, however, it was only a matter time before my other half began to reveal her true range of vocal colours. I should hate to list any of the expletives that I encountered last month, after Doreen returned home from the Bingo Hall at 4 am- boasting about how she had been "drinking like a $%@&ing chimney" ever since lunchtime. Sure enough she was as pissed as a judge! When I tried to convince her to put down the king-sized chef's special from "Abrakebabra" and drink a couple of pints of water, she simply exploded at me! Some of the expressions that woman knows could probably have left comedian Roy 'Chubby' Checker blushing like a pubescent teenager at a middle-aged swingers party! Much as I hate to admit it, Doreen could only be described as having a mouth like a bidet!

Anyhow, with the aid of this fine book by Richard (or Dick, for short) Holder I have been doing my best to train Doreen in a few polite linguistic alternatives. The results have been fairly encouraging so far, but I'm not exactly expecting to recreate 'Pygmalion' (more like 'Pig-malion', in this case). Doreen's vocabulary is still extremely limited compared to my own, but the handful of cooler expressions that she has recently picked up has been enough to keep her from turning the air quite such a shade of blue. If she can keep a clean slate over the next few weeks, I've agreed to repay her efforts with a present of her own choice. I imagine that she'll be more than pleased if I do indeed splash out on her although, to be honest, I was more than a little surprised by her request. In fact, I can't actually recall having taught her the meaning of the phrase 'pearl-necklace'!
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