Would calling Obama illiterate have been better?

OK...you caught me off guard with that one.

I was referring more to the old joke where we take a newbie squid and tell him to go to engineering and get us 20 feet of fallopian tubing or a big bucket of steam.

 

I don't know whether you'd describe these as code words or euphemisms from my suburban WASP upgringing:

"confirmed bachelor"="homosexual" (When I grew up, "gay" didn't exist, at least not in the Liberace sense.)

"visiting her aunt"="knocked up"

"problem marriage"="drunk and wifebeater"

And modern corporate weaselspeak is full of code words.

There's no dictionary. You just have to deconstruct the conversation.

 

See, I think it may be a cultural thing because growing up, a confirmed bachelor was someone who refused to get married but did lots of dating. It wasn't necessarily a homosexual thing.

Visiting her aunt? Never heard that one.

Problem marriage? Drunk and wifebeater aren't the first phrases that leap to mind.

And deconstruct the conversation? That's not very practical to stop speaking to someone just so you can run it through the code machine.

Me: Have a nice day.
You: (Hmm...better find out what he really means).
**computer indicates 'Have a nice day,' probably means 'I don't really care about your well-being I was just saying it because I have to'**
You: Hey, F- you buddy!

 

Some sports examples:

Gritty

Coach's son

Student of the game

Athletic

Crafty

Experienced

 

See Zeke, this is where meaning changes from one person to another.

Ken Daneyko, a former defenseman for the N.J. Devils, was never referred to as being really good, nor was he. But he was quite often referred to as gritty, because it was appropriate for his style of play. He was rough and tough and strong and intimidating, and he survived in the league for a long time on those traits.

You might call someone gritty as a euphamism for them not being good, but I looked at gritty as a way to describe his style of play.

 

Alley, I dragged those examples from my adolescence --first ones that popped into my head.

"Confirmed bachelor" always implied that the guy was gay. And guess what, gay men dated back then. One of my oldest friends was married for 10 years before he came out of the closet.

Code can also be bullshit. And if you have a well tuned detector you can spot it every time.

And why are we carrying on this conversation in two threads?

 

Not entirely sure.

 

But as you said earlier, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Other times, not so much.

In my case, it's just a cigar. In Biden's case, it's a couple of hundred thousand votes. Either way, I'm sleeping well tonight.

 

I do agree there are code words and phrases out there.

I would just strongly disagree on the number that are exist, unless someone is hellbent on making the language a never-ending mine field. The "codes" JR cites above are euphemisms for subjects people didn't want to address directly, but I'm not sure everybody has the same interpretation. Where I grew up, "confirmed bachelor" was just as liable to be a womanizer who simply had no interesting in limiting his options by getting married. "Problem marriage" could have meant many things -- including wife-beater.

Are there creeps who say ``articulate" when they mean "articulate for a black guy"? No doubt. But I think it's a perversion of the language -- and the intent -- to reflexively twist words with positive connotations, words that are meant as compliments, into negatives and insults. I've heard words such as "articulate" and "smart" and "athletic" applied plenty of times to non-minorities. I don't know, maybe I don't hang out with enough white supremacists.

As for "athletic," I take exception for a different reason than some: Isn't an athlete by definition some degree of athletic?

 

Allen --
I completely agree that some players -- especially in hockey -- can be aptly described as "gritty."

And the meaning is exactly what you're describing. Blocks shots. Tough in the corners. Wins big draws. Not afraid to go hard to the net.

But the next time I hear a black player -- in any sport -- referred to as "gritty" will be the first.

So you can see where I'm going.

 

Zeke,

You haven't seen Shane Battier or Chuck Hayes or Udonis Haslem or Charles Oakley referred to as gritty? (If I'm excluding some other glaring examples, forgive me, but I'm not an NBA Season Pass kind of guy.) I'm not asking to be a smart-ass. I think there are a lot of people who take that to describe a hard-nosed player who isn't necessarily long on talent, though I'd argue that Michael Jordan and Larry Bird were as gritty as they come.

 

Actually, I can't see where you're going. Shane Battier plays for the Houston Rockets and announcers here have called him gritty and scrappy. Sam Cassell has been described the same way. I just don't see it.