Euphemania

Our Love Affair with Euphemisms

Contributors

By Ralph Keyes

Formats and Prices

Price

$12.99

Price

$16.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $12.99 $16.99 CAD
  2. Hardcover $36.00 $46.00 CAD

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.

Genre:

On Sale
Dec 14, 2010
Page Count
288 pages
Publisher
Little Brown Spark
ISBN-13
9780316121958

Ralph Keyes

About the Author

Ralph Keyes is the author of 15 books, including The Courage to Write and I Love It When You Talk Retro. He has written for Esquire, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Newsweek, and Harper’s. Keyes lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he writes, lectures, and is a Trustee of the Antioch Writers’ Workshop.

Learn more about this author