15 February 2014

dysphemism

[dis-fuh-miz-uhm]

noun

1. the substitution of a harsh, disparaging, or unpleasant expression for a more neutral one. For example: ‘Though often meant to shock or offend, dysphemisms may also serve as in-group markers to signal closeness’.
2. an expression so substituted.

Origin:

1880–85; dys- + (eu)phemism

Related forms
dys·phe·mis·tic, adjective

Antonyms
euphemism.

Anagram

sped shimmy
dips my hems

Today’s aphorism

The word good has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man.

– G.K. Chesterton

On this day

15 February 1989 – the last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan after a 10 year occupation referred to as the Soviet Union’s ‘Vietnam’. The Soviets had invaded on 24 December 1979 in response to Afghan insurgents (armed by the United States) who had been attacking Soviet troops. The occupation lasts for 10 years and results in the deaths of between 600,000 and 2,000,000 Afghan civilians, as well as 6,000,000 refugees who fled to Pakistan and Iran. The cost of the Afghan occupation is a significant factor that led to the economic collapse of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet occupation, the United States funded Afghan resistance in the form of the Mujahideen and other militant Islamic groups, out of whom emerged Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Afghan people continue to suffer and to comprise a significant portion of global refugee numbers because of the involvement of the USSR and the USA during this period.