Further annals of taboo avoidance
The
New York Times continues
to find ways to not print taboo words (for our most recent report on
the phenomenon, look
here).
Now, in the
Magazine of
10/1/06, Matt Bai struggles with Howard Dean's language ("Is Howard
Dean willing to destroy the Democratic Party in order to save it?", p.
56):
[Dean] was told that he was booked on
the local Air America affiliate [in Anchorage, Alaska], the only
liberal radio option in town...
"Bull," Dean snapped, using a slightly more elongated version of the
term.
Well,
THAT keeps that nasty word at arm's length, using
the fancy "slightly more elongated" and the technical "term".
Meanwhile, the stuff inside quotation marks isn't an actual quotation,
but rather a stand-in for one, using an avoidance substitute. ("
'Fudge,' bellowed the coach, using a stronger version of the
word.")
zwicky at-sign csli period stanford period edu
Posted by Arnold Zwicky at October 4, 2006 11:27 AM