01-29-2010, 03:40 AM
Amigo Wrote:What's euphemism? Can you give me an example? I looked it up in the dictionary, but I don't understand.
From the Dictionary :
Euphemism :
an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh;
Quote:Sexual intercourse was once a euphemism derived from the more general term intercourse by itself, which simply meant "meeting" but now is normally used as a synonym for the longer phrase, thus making the town of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, a subject of jokes in modern usage.
This town is on the other side of Pennsylvania from me.
Quote:As with the nearby towns of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, Blue Ball, and Paradise, Pennsylvania, Intercourse is a popular site for tourists on account of its location in "Amish country"... the movie Witness was filmed in Intercourse
Quote:The "baseball metaphors for sex" are perhaps the most famous and widely-used set of polite euphemisms for sex and relationship behavior in the U.S. The metaphors encompass terms like "hitting it off" for a good start to relationship, "Striking out" for being unlucky with a love interest, and "running the bases" for progressing sexually in a relationship. The "bases" themselves, from first to third, stand for various levels of sexual activity from French kissing to "petting", itself a euphemism for manual genital stimulation, all of which is short of "scoring" or "coming home", sexual intercourse. "Hitting a home run" describes sex during the first date, "batting both ways" (also "switch-hitting") or "batting for the other team" describes bisexuality or homosexuality respectively, and "stealing bases" refers to initiating new levels of sexual contact without invitation. Baseball-related euphemisms also abound for the "equipment"; "Bat and balls" are a common reference to the male genitalia, while "glove" or "mitt" can refer to the female anatomy.