Wobbly Bits is the essential guide to polite conversation. Covering everything from the politically incorrect to the seriously taboo, this humorous book offers over 3,000 ways to avoid speaking your mind!

Author: John Ayto

Publisher: A&C Black

ISBN: 0713678402

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 352

View: 431

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Wobbly Bits is the essential guide to polite conversation. Covering everything from the politically incorrect to the seriously taboo, this humorous book offers over 3,000 ways to avoid speaking your mind! Keep this book as your secret weapon (that 'distinguished, cosmetically different person of size' your friend keeps mentioning might just not be your ideal date!), and you'll never be caught out again! Subjects covered include crime, sins, sex, the body and its parts, clothing and nakedness, bodily functions and secretions, illness and injury, old age and death, work, poverty, government and politics, warfare and race.

Disabled was originally a euphemism for handicapped, which began as a polite
synonym for “crippled. ... As John Ayto points out in Wobbly Bits and Other
Euphemisms, words such as “blind,”“deaf,” “dumb,”“lame,” and “cripple” are of
ancient ...

Author: Ralph Keyes

Publisher: Hachette UK

ISBN: 9780316121958

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 288

View: 147

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How did die become kick the bucket, underwear become unmentionables, and having an affair become hiking the Appalachian trail? Originally used to avoid blasphemy, honor taboos, and make nice, euphemisms have become embedded in the fabric of our language. Euphemania traces the origins of euphemisms from a tool of the church to a form of gentility to today's instrument of commercial, political, and postmodern doublespeak. As much social commentary as a book for word lovers, Euphemania is a lively and thought-provoking look at the power of words and our power over them.

Disabled was originally a euphemism for handicapped, which in turn began as a
polite synonym for crippled. ... As John Ayto points out in Wobbly Bits and Other
Euphemisms, words such as blind, deaf, dumb, lame and cripple are of ancient ...

Author: Ralph Keyes

Publisher: Hachette UK

ISBN: 9781848544567

Category: History

Page: 300

View: 972

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We say a lot about ourselves by what we don't say. Words and phrases like 'collateral damage', 'wardrobe malfunction', 'vertically challenged', and old favourites like 'unmentionables' (trousers, apparently) or 'lady of the night' - all are ways of not using particular words. UNMENTIONABLES is a rollicking exploration of the history of euphemistic usage, looking at how taboos connected to sex, death, religion, war, politics, business and matters of status have produced an extraordinary linguistic creativity, and how euphemistic speech has changed over the centuries. It looks at how euphemisms are born, and how they die (or 'experience a negative outcome') and it explores why it is that we create euphemisms, and the different purposes - from the benign to the sinister - that they serve. (Is 'euphemism' a euphemism for lying?) Lively, entertaining, and crammed with fascinating nuggets of information, UNMENTIONABLES is a celebration of the richness of language. Why have just one word for something when you can have ten other words instead?

Euphemistic and Dysphemistic Metaphors in Internet forums Eliecer Crespo-
Fernández ... Ayto, J. (2007), Wobbly Bits and Other Euphemisms: Over 3,000
Ways to Avoid Speaking Your Mind, London: A & C Black. Barcelona, A. (ed.) (
2000a) ...

Author: Eliecer Crespo-Fernández

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

ISBN: 9781472596543

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 240

View: 304

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Metaphor has long provided a rich way to speak about the unspeakable, to refer to delicate issues. Sex is one such area. This book follows a cognitive-linguistic and relevance-theoretic approach to the language of sex, considering metaphor as a bridge that brings together mind and language. It does this through the analysis of the antithetical mechanisms of verbal mitigation and offence. These two mechanisms are (more commonly know as) euphemism and (its lesser known companion term) dysphemism. The volume reflects on the social and communicative functions that sexual metaphors perform in a sample of almost two hundred postings taken from internet forums. How do people think about sex? How do people avoid talking about sex? How do people paraphrase sexual topics? It offers an account of how real language users understand sexual taboo in present-day English and also a great grounding in manual corpus work on a qualitative level.

Ayto, John, Wobbly bits and other euphemisms (London: A & C Black, 2007).
Over 3,000 euphemisms arranged under topics, such as crime, sex, warfare. Ayto
, John and Simpson, John, Stone the crows: Oxford dictionary of modern slang,
2nd ...

Author: Jean Aitchison

Publisher: Hachette UK

ISBN: 9781444131468

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 272

View: 941

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This classic book is a straightforward introduction to linguistics which attempts to answer two fundamental questions: 'What is language?' and 'How does language work?' It outlines the scope of linguistics, explaining basic concepts and essential terminology with examples drawn mainly from English. Sound patterning, syntax and meaning - the inner core of linguistics - are discussed simply and clearly, as are the rapidly growing areas of pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and stylistics. You will find this contemporary, easy-to-read book essential to broadening your understanding of the subtleties and power of language. NOT GOT MUCH TIME? One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started. AUTHOR INSIGHTS Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience. TEST YOURSELF Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress. EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE Extra online articles at www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of linguistics. FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER Quick refreshers to help you remember the key facts. TRY THIS Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.

Offers entries for over six thousand idioms, including seven hundred new to this edition, and provides background information, additional cross-references, and national variants.

Author: John Ayto

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780199543786

Category: Foreign Language Study

Page: 408

View: 396

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Offers entries for over six thousand idioms, including seven hundred new to this edition, and provides background information, additional cross-references, and national variants.

More than 400 idioms have been added to this new edition, and comprise recently coined and common sayings alike.

Author: John Ayto

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780192584380

Category: Reference

Page: 448

View: 381

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What is it to 'cock a snook', where is the land of Nod, and who was first to go the extra mile? Find the answers to these questions (and many more!) in the new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Idioms. This dictionary uncovers the meanings of myriad phrases and sayings that are used daily in the English language, encompassing more than 10,000 figurative expressions, similes, sayings, and proverbs. More than 400 idioms have been added to this new edition, and comprise recently coined and common sayings alike. New additions include 'back of the net', 'drag and drop', 'go it alone', 'how come?', 'if you ask me', 'make your skin crawl', and 'woe betide'. Illustrative quotations sourced from the Oxford corpora give contextual examples of the idioms and their standard usage, and many entries include background information on the origins of the idiom in question. An updated thematic index makes for easy navigation, and anyone who is interested in the origins and diversity of English vernacular will have hours of fun browsing this fascinating dictionary.

Offering coverage of over 6,000 slang words and expressions from the Cockney 'abaht' to the American term 'zowie', this is the most authoritative dictionary of slang from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Author: John Ayto

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780199232055

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 408

View: 134

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Offering coverage of over 6,000 slang words and expressions from the Cockney 'abaht' to the American term 'zowie', this is the most authoritative dictionary of slang from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Drawing on the unique resources of the Oxford English Dictionary and offering coverage of over 6,000 slang words and expressions from the Cockney 'abaht' to the American term 'zowie', Stone the Crows is the most lively and authoritative ...

Author: John Ayto

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

ISBN: UCSC:32106019651105

Category: Reference

Page: 408

View: 726

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Drawing on the unique resources of the Oxford English Dictionary and offering coverage of over 6,000 slang words and expressions from the Cockney 'abaht' to the American term 'zowie', Stone the Crows is the most lively and authoritative dictionary of slang from the 20th and 21st centuries.

This edition also features a greatlyincreased number of cross-references, making it ideal for quick reference.Many entries include additional features which give more detailed background on the idiom in question.

Author: John Ayto

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

ISBN: 9780199543793

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 408

View: 170

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Did you know that 'flavour of the month' originated in a marketing campaign in American ice-cream parlours in the 1940s, when a particular flavour would be specially promoted for a month at a time? And did you know that 'off the cuff' refers to the rather messy practice of writing impromptu notes on one's shirt cuff before speaking in public? These and many more idioms are explained and put into context in this third edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Idioms. The volume takes a fresh look at the idiomatic phrases and sayings that make English the rich and intriguing language that it is. This major new edition contains entries for over 6000 idioms, including 700 entirely new entries, based on Oxford's language monitoring and the ongoing third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. These include a range of recently established idioms such as 'the elephant in the corner', 'go figure', 'like a rat up a drainpipe', 'sex on legs', 'step up to the plate', 'too posh to push', 'a walk in the park', 'win ugly'. This edition also features a greatly increased number of cross-references, making it ideal for quick reference. Many entries include additional features which give more detailed background on the idiom in question. For example, did you know that 'taken aback' was adopted from nautical terminology that described a ship unable to move forward because of a strong headwind pressing its sails back against the mast? Anyone interested in the colourful side of the Englishlanguage will get hours of fun browsing from this fascinating and informative volume.

... involves groups of reassuringly ordinary women being initiated into various
arts of femininity—make-up, convenience cookery, exercises to work off "those
wobbly bits"—by a female ... The use of baby talk and twee euphemism is
revealing.

Author:

Publisher:

ISBN: STANFORD:36105070362053

Category: Great Britain

Page:

View: 883

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John Mitchinson has an occasional tightness of production and signs of a wobble
from time to time . ... a performance in which the word “ ensemble ” really means
something — and something other than a euphemism for second - rate singing .

Author:

Publisher:

ISBN: STANFORD:36105011447781

Category: Music

Page:

View: 766

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You don't catch them fuzzing up their mistakes with euphemisms and other artful
dodges . ... Or “ We haven't got the guts to break it off clean , so we're just
chipping it off a little bit at a time . ” " It developed rotational instability . ” The
unpleasant truth , screened by a facade of Latin - derived polysyllabics : “ It
began to wobble .

Author:

Publisher:

ISBN: STANFORD:36105013137356

Category: Engineering design

Page:

View: 401

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Vol. for 1955 includes an issue with title Product design handbook issue; 1956, Product design digest issue; 1957, Design digest issue.

In Syracuse , N.Y. , police wondered why James Taylor , 65 , was a bit wobbly as
they booked him on gambling charges ... but when a reader protested that these
were distant euphemisms for God ( " And , by gosh , " says Svenson in surprise .

Author: Briton Hadden

Publisher:

ISBN: IND:30000080766128

Category: Current events

Page:

View: 666

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Author: Oxford University Press

Publisher: OXFORD University Press

ISBN: UCSC:32106019039251

Category: Foreign Language Study

Page: 514

View: 916

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Authoritative, accessible, and completely up to date, The Oxford Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms is an invaluable guide for anyone wanting to build their vocabulary and improve their writing skills. Over 140,000 alternative and opposite words are given with the closest, most frequentlyused synonyms listed first; in addition thousands of real-life examples of usage from the Oxford English Corpus enable the reader to pinpoint the relevant word quickly and easily.Also included are some useful appendices designed to improve your knowledge of the language: a new Wordfinder section offers a selection of thematic lists - from chemical elements and clothing to phobias and flowers - and a Common Confusables supplement explains the crucial differences betweensimilar words that are often mixed up.

La Negri's ' piquant ' ( the studio's euphemism for thick and guttural ) accent was
a liability impossible to overcome . ... to a standstill , and wins enough money to
pay for the hospitalization of another rider who has tangled with the vicious horse
. ... The acting of principals Richard Dix ( right ) , Robert Armstrong and Joel
McCrea tended to be a bit wobbly , but the aviation sequences were anything but
.

Author: Richard B. Jewell

Publisher: Outlet

ISBN: UOM:39015012416163

Category: Motion picture industry

Page: 320

View: 971

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Surveys the history of the motion picture studio, RKO Radio Pictures, from its beginnings in 1928 to its collapse in 1960 and discusses a variety of its films

It may be the ing that the other couples in this first ( and last ) movie in which the
bedroom farce , constructed in the word ... Mr . Ackerman seems to way
production at the Actors ' Playbelieve that euphemistic discussions house ,
makes the movie ... Then , by the light of a single candle ( and an usher ' s less
than adequate flashlight ) you cross a wobbly floor to a ... of NN " sounds a bit like
a recent addition to the bill of fare at Universal Studios , it sometimes seems to be
exactly that .

Author: New York Times Theater Reviews

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

ISBN: 0415936977

Category: Performing Arts

Page: 625

View: 507

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This volume is a comprehensive collection of critical essays on The Taming of the Shrew, and includes extensive discussions of the play's various printed versions and its theatrical productions. Aspinall has included only those essays that offer the most influential and controversial arguments surrounding the play. The issues discussed include gender, authority, female autonomy and unruliness, courtship and marriage, language and speech, and performance and theatricality.

However , the large majority of terms used are repressive and euphemistic . ...
The drinker is afflicted , all at sea , a bit on , concerned , disguised , in his
altitudes , exalted , gilded , glorious , salubrious , chirping merry . ... far - fetched
and the ideation narrow so that its relevance is no longer apparent ; in others , a
part is selected to dominate the whole process ... The place where liquor is sold
is a devil ' s house , a gargle factory , a roostingken , an O - be - joyful works , a
wobble - shop .

Author:

Publisher:

ISBN: UOM:39015024483524

Category: Child development

Page:

View: 120

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Vols. 5-15 include "Bibliography of child study," by Louis N. Wilson.

However , the large majority of terms used are repressive and euphemistic . A
man in ... The drinker is afflicted , all at sea , a bit on , concerned , disguised , in
his altitudes , exalted , gilded , glorious , salubrious , chirping merry . ... In some
cases the association is far - fetched and the ideation narrow so that its relevance
is no longer apparent ; in others , a ... The place where liquor is sold is a devil ' s
house , a gargle factory , a roostingken , an O - be - joyful works , a wobble - shop
.

Author: Carl Allanmore Murchison

Publisher:

ISBN: STANFORD:36105003538613

Category: Child psychology

Page:

View: 444

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Vols. 5-15 include "Bibliography of child study. By Louis N. Wilson."

... is a euphemism for the kind of thing that would be better used to propel buses
around Stockholm down my chewed a bit and spat out , like chewing gum . ... the
word can be stretched in one direction to mean blinis with sour cream and
Sevruga , or in the other to mean soggy Ritz ... Wobbly , chewy urchin , uncuttable
by human incisor , hung from my mouth ; the seaweed then wouldn't break ;
green ...

Author:

Publisher:

ISBN: CORNELL:31924095711937

Category: Cooking

Page:

View: 969

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