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.
Ramblings about words, art, books, the media and Golden Age detective stories. Buy me a kofi at: https://ko-fi.com/lucyrfisher
Monday 22 February 2021
Euphemisms: Arguments II
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