Estate agents have always been notorious for their inventive euphemisms.[9] One much in use at the moment is “beautifully presented”, or even “superbly[10] presented”. “A beautifully presented, spacious Victorian house”[11] —what does it mean? Nothing. The only beautiful presentation is by the estate agent himself—and that is of no use when you find the house is a cheaply tarted-up[12] ruin.
In the poet D. J. Enright’s anthology of essays on euphemisms, wittily entitled Fair of Speech, David Pannick gives some examples of legal euphemisms used to seduce people.[13] Barristers are always called “counsel”, says Pannick, which suggests they are friends or confidants, not just professional lawyers.[14] Their fees after the first day are called “refreshers”—cleverly implying a physical need for what is merely another financial transaction.[15]
As Enright says in his introduction, euphemisms may be fair of speech, but they are often “foul of meaning and dishonest in intent”[16]. We can perhaps live without plain chocolate digestives—but all too often we still look in vain for plain speech.
Vocabulary
1. chocolate digestive: 巧克力消化饼干。
2. plain chocolate: = dark chocolate,纯巧克力、黑巧克力,指不加牛奶的低糖巧克力,比加牛奶的巧克力更纯,味道更好。本文作者认为商家之所以更青睐“黑巧克力”而非“纯巧克力”这个名字,是因为“黑”字听上去更神秘、更富浪漫色彩。
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