Monday 22 February 2021

Euphemisms: Arguments II

Have you ever wondered what people really mean? The expanded and updated Boo and Hooray may have the answer.

apologist:
defender of opposing view
biased:
biased in the wrong direction (usually to the Left)
fourth-form debating society:
using logic
I’m being harassed by a troll!
They disagreed with me.
I’m bored now.

I’m just trying to start a debate:
I want to make some unacceptably bigoted remarks upfront. I can plausibly deny them later.

I’m not being listened to:
You’re not agreeing with me. (“The other side needs to listen” means “The other side needs to shut up while we indoctrinate them”.)

I’m sure:
I think.

The fact is, the truth is…:
The received wisdom unsupported by evidence is…

There’s a fine line between X and Y:
I want to use the hooray word, not the boo word, or else I want to pretend bullying is “just banter”. (Or “X and Y are totally opposed and cancel each other out”. Or even “X and Y are light-years apart.”)

There’s no justice in this world! Things didn’t quite go my way.

They’re taking away my freedom of speech: They’re disagreeing with me. (And telling me I can’t make racist and sexist comments. There’s no law against it! Except there is – in the UK.)

They’re bad at communication: They don’t listen. They don’t understand what they hear.

We were discriminated against and treated unfairly: We lost the vote.

Many more euphemisms for disagreement here.


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