Definition and Examples of Cacophemisms in English

Cacophemism is a  word or expression thats  generally perceived as harsh, impolite, or offensive, although it may be used in a humorous context. It is similar to dysphemism, and a contrast with euphemism. Etymology is from the Greek, bad plus speech. Cacophemism, says Brian Mott, is a deliberate reaction against euphemism and involves intentional use of strong words, very often with the aim of shocking the audience or the person to whom they are addressed (Semantics and Translation for Spanish Learners of English, 2011). Examples and Observations A cruel or offensive dysphemism is a cacophemism (from Greek kakos bad), such as using it for a person: Is it coming again tonight?(Tom McArthur, The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press, 1992) How Neutral Terms Become CacophemismsWhen we use cacophemisms,....we do not necessarily speak ill of anything. Cacophemistic language is a rough and raw, blunt and vulgar way of saying anything — good, evil, or neutral — of a thing. Not all of it is obscene by any means; witness grub and duds for example. Some are extremely vulgar, but not quite obscene (that is, not quite categorically tabooed in polite society), likely to offend but not to shock, like puke, guts, fart, stink, belly, croak, and burp. A genuinely obscene word, in virtue of the taboo its utterance violates, is as cacophemistic as a word can be. . . .People naturally find some perfectly accurate descriptive terms unflattering and displeasing. It is therefore considered good manners for others to avoid these terms as much as possible, and when one cannot avoid speaking the unpleasant truth, to find descriptive synonyms that strike the ear as less blunt, though they say the same thing as the unflattering te rm. In this way, we generate a stream of euphemisms, in comparison to which the original descriptive term seems ever more coarse, until that term, originally neutral, becomes a cacophemism. The words fat and old are good examples of this process. It is now considered to be blunt almost to the point of uncouthness to refer to a fat person as fat. And while there are a few dysphemistic ways of saying the same thing (potbellied, fat-assed, lard-assed, gross), there are few other terms that are as cacophemistic now as the straightforward unadorned fat.(Joel Feinberg, Offense to Others. Oxford University Press, 1988) Rationalizing With Euphemisms and CacophemismEuphemism and cacophemism play a central role in rationalization. When we call someone a terrorist, we may be using a cacophemism — making an activity seem worse than it actually is. When we call the same person a freedom fighter, we may be using a euphemism — making the activity sound better than it really is. Either way, by using these words, we set ourselves up for rationalizing the harming of others.(Ronald A. Howard and Clinton D. Korver, Ethics for the Real World. Harvard Business Press, 2008) Cacophemisms and HumorA euphemism is generally no more than the triumph of squeamishness over reality: little person for dwarf, senior citizen for old man, disturbed for crazy, etc. Cacophemisms, on the other hand, tend to reflect an attitude of rough-and-ready good humor toward the person or object in question: egghead, grease monkey, quack, etc. A further difference between the two isms is that cacophemisms are more readily recognized for what they are; euphemisms tend to have acquired a wider  currency in normal parlance and hence to be accepted more unthinkingly by the listener.(Peter Bowler,  The Superior Persons Book of Words. David R. Godine, 1985)

Essay on Congressional Committees The Workhorse of...

Most individuals with a general background knowledge of the United States Federal Government system are aware that in order for a bill to become a law, it must first pass a majority vote in Congress. There is, however, a very important step in the legislative process that sometimes goes unnoticed. The committee system of the legislation process ensures that the appropriate attention is given to each bill introduced to Congress. Each member of both chambers are assigned to committees and subcommittees, and are expected to become subject matter experts in their respective roles as committee members. The committee system is necessary in order to ensure that each piece of legislation receives the consideration that it deserves. Judy†¦show more content†¦Joint committees focus on broad areas, and are used of oversight into bureaucratic organizations throughout the Government. It would be as foolish to assume that a committee can know and understand a full piece of legislation as it would be to assume that individual members of Congress would. For this purpose, subcommittees are formed. Subcommittees are a further delegation of tasking within the review of legislation. Valerie Heitshusen, an analyst on Congress wrote, â€Å"Most committees form subcommittees to share specific tasks within the jurisdiction of the full Committee† (Committee Types and Roles 3). Subcommittees are expected to present their finding on their assigned area of a bill. They, along with experts (witnesses) testify before the full committee on their findings. After the full committee considers the subcommittees’ findings, a vote is taken as to whether or not the bill goes to the chamber. There is a hierarchy which exists within Congress and its committees. For example, each committee and subcommittee is presided over by a chair, presiding officer, or party leader. A considerable amount of authority is afforded to these leaders, which enables strong partisan influence wi thin the committees. Because committee chairs are selected by majority leaders in both the House and Senate, the controlling party can assign committee chairs who sympathize with the party’s agenda. According to the textbook, â€Å"ToShow MoreRelatedCongressional Committees and Healthcare Policy Essay1130 Words   |  5 PagesCongressional Committees and Healthcare Policy (Chapter Review) An important point made in Weissert and Weissert concerning Congress and its committee structure is that the majority of the work in Congress is done through committees. They perform the majority of research on issues and possible solutions, get legislation written, re-written and amended, and support it as it moves through Congress and finally gets passed. They are the â€Å"workhorses of the legislature† (Weissert and Weissert, 29). Read MoreClean Air Act12612 Words   |  51 Pagesand passed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1972.   The Amendments of 72 (as also amended in 77 and 90), embodies a combination of four distinct statutory techniques: Sections 7407, 7408, 7409, and 7410, taken together created the broad basic workhorse regulatory system for control of the most commonly produced and significant air pollutants.   These sections apply a harm-based ambient quality regulatory approach applied to stationary sources.    In English:   a strategy to regulate fixed sourcesRead MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 Pagessecurity risks. Other new roles at the middle-management level help ensure that contracts with key outsourcing suppliers have successful outcomes (Willcocks and Griffiths, 2010). Senior business managers also play IT leadership roles by serving on committees that approve and prioritize new IT investments and by sponsoring IT investments for their business areas. Other business managers may serve as business process experts on IT project teams to select, design, and implement software packages. All

Pixar Animation Studios’ Up Essay Sample free essay sample

Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios’ Up. the popular animated movie from 2009 grabs your attending from the really get downing with its outstanding creativeness and color throughout every scene. Fictional characters are brought to life through witty word pictures and merriment voices. A meaningful narrative is felt. conveying you all the manner to the fairy narrative stoping. Up is an inventive and adventuresome journey. taking you through the troubles of life. edifice of friendly relationships. and doing right determinations. all lending to achieving true felicity. â€Å"Nominated for 92 awards. winning 55. including 2 Oscar Awards for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures and Best Animated Feature Film of the Year â€Å" Up is merely unbelievable ( IMDb ) . Up mastered the thought of doing an alive movie gratifying for all ages. whether kid. adolescent. or grownup. Action. escapade. love. and laughs are all parts lending to the movie as a whole. doing it merriment for anyone. Good ethical motives and metaphors can be seen throughout. associating them to parts of life but in a originative and inventive mode maintaining the amusement degrees high from the really start. Up Begins with the heartfelt love narrative of Carl and Ellie as immature kids meeting in the old house where they began their escapades together. As childs. they portion features of wonder. optimism. and fun loving psyche. Carl and Ellie shared a long and happy life with a desire for more escapade than they were truly able to accomplish. This beautiful love narrative is so torn to pieces as Carl is faced with the decease of Ellie and is forced to travel on with his durable life. â€Å"Carl becomes overwhelmed by his heartache and the load of a life that to him now seems uncomplete. It would be so easy for him to give up – to allow the developers take over his place – but Carl pig-headedly stays in the house filled with their shared memories while experiencing progressively heartsick and grumpy† ( Evely. 62-70 ) . These strong feelings of how disquieted he seems to be are genuinely felt by the life and actions of shown. As he moves on. his daily modus operandi is dead. lacking in life or even much attention. His life feels pointless. as he hangs on to the yesteryear from when his one love was still with him. Anger and grief are brought out in Carl when a building worker unwittingly amendss the letter box carefully painted by Ellie in the yesteryear. When this happens. Carl work stoppages at the adult male out of pure inherent aptitude. keeping on to what he cares about most. the memories of Ellie. Because of his actions. Carl is so required to go forth his place and unrecorded in a retirement place. But merely as his life seems to hold wholly ended. Carl comes up with the bright thought to salvage his place and Ellie’s dream at the same clip. to wing his house with 1000s of balloons to their childhood dream. Paradise Falls. But while his impossible dream seems to be in gesture as he sails through the sky. he is shortly awakened by the knock of a immature wilderness explorer 70 old ages younge r than he. Russell. voiced by Jordan Nagai. is an 8-year-old wilderness adventurer seeking to gain his last badge of helping the aged. Carl. being an old adult male himself. turns out to be the perfect mark. Ending up on Carl’s porch while winging through the sky. Russell is fearfully caught outside and Carl is reluctantly forced to allow the adolescent male child in. Showing more of his stubborn and crabbed personality. Carl dislikes the presence of the male child. merely being a distraction to his journey. A barrier is felt between the two chiefly coming from Carl’s negative vibraphones contrary to Russell’s fun-loving character. Christine Evely points out that â€Å"the energizers have non chosen a realist manner of life. but alternatively have used a caricatured manner that high spots cardinal characteristics. about doing them larger than life. You might detect that Carl is a instead square-shaped character who is slow and steady. while Russell is more circle-shaped an d able to travel about fluidly and quickly† ( 62-70 ) . This pick of life plants good to drastically uncover the tempers the characters are in and demo their true personalities while besides adding a amusing turn. Along with these two chief characters. other playful characters are seen and each have their ain type of characteristic portrayed by their actions during the movie. Each character has its ain narrative and troubles to face. Like many alive movies. Up has a conflict of good versus immorality. As Carl and Russell make the speedy journey to South America. they so struggle to go through through the jungle. drawing the natation house with them to the exact drop Ellie had dreamed of. But along the manner. Charles Muntz ( voiced by Christopher Plummer ) . besides Carl’s childhood hero. and his speaking Canis familiariss try to acquire in the manner. Earlier in the movie Russell found a Snipe bird and named him Kevin. going his new friend. But Kevin had ever been a mark for Charles as he has long searched to capture him. As this turn is added to the narrative. ill will and action becomes more prevailing as Charles tries his best to take the bird. Charles and his Canis familiariss. equipped with neckbands to assist them speak. are shown as the evil 1s in the movie disputing the good of Carl and Russell. These evil characters are seen as making what is incorrect. arousing high emotions against them. As the conflict gets more intense. another character is brought into the image. Dug. Dug is a Canis familiaris that was originally a portion of Charles’ wolf battalion of oblique Canis familiariss. but finally turns to go good. assisting Carl and Russell to get away. Yet another relationship is built as Carl. Russell. Dug. and Kevin work together to acquire off from the hazard skulking behind them. Throughout the film Carl is the character that additions the most from the escapade and edifice of friendly relationships. The passing of his darling married woman causes Carl to detest life. maintaining merely to himself instead than doing the best of things. Even when he begins his journey to South America and becomes accompanied by Russell. he rejects the boy’s positive and magnetic presence. much like that of his ain childhood. But after passing more and more clip with him. Carl learns to love and care for Russell. Although when the pick is brought to him whether to salvage himself and his house or to salvage Kevin as Charles makes him make up ones mind. he chooses what he cares most approximately. the house. Russell is heartbroken and decides to seek and salvage Kevin himself while Charles flies off in his Colonel Blimp. Finally doing it to the dream finish. Carl feels a agape hole inside of him. non filled by his original end. He so realizes that he needs to allow travel of the past and can make so by uncluttering out all of the ownerships in his house. doing it light plenty to wing after th e Colonel Blimp to salvage Russell. He so becomes the hero of the narrative. giving all that he has left to salvage his newfound friend. A feeling of exhilaration is brought out through the fast paced music. this being the flood tide of the movie. A conflict of heroic proportions met with wit is fought as the two old work forces duel it out on the Colonel Blimp stoping with good get the better ofing immorality. Confronting the troubles of the journey. Carl ends up deriving much more than he expected. The challenges and things he endures can be related to occurrences of existent life. Death is something we all will confront in our life-times and can be really emotional. Up is able to capture this feeling highly good in merely a few short proceedingss at the beginning of the movie. Every emotion is felt in this narrative. from felicity to desperation. Easily related to. Carl goes through things that we all do. He falls in love. lives his happy and perfect life with typical adversities coming throughout. Along with great duologue emotion capturing voices. the ocular effects were attractively done. The narrative is even more vividly brought out by colourful imagination. Every scene is visually interesting. maintaining your attending throughout. particularly when seen in 2D. â€Å"The colourss – particularly those of the balloons and the feather of a elephantine bird – are bright and cheerful. and will about surely lose something when diminished by the 3D spectacless. so there’s at least one obliging statement to see this in 2D. Regardless of how it’s watched. Up showcases the all right life that has become Pixar’s trademark. It is non every bit airy as what we were presented with in WALL-E. but it puts to dishonor DreamWorks’ Monsters vs. Aliens. where the compulsion with 3D resulted in other shortcomings† ( James Berardinelli ) . No affair who you are. Up will be one of the most unbelievable alive movies to of all time be seen. The realistic backgrounds are blended nicely with the caricatured characters. Not much is left for ima ginativeness as scenes are portrayed skilfully such as in the wondrous made landscapes of South America. The jungles are full of colourful leafy vegetables. assisting you to experience as though you were at that place. At the 82nd Academy Awards. Up took place the award for Best Animated Feature. and even received a nomination for Best Picture. and truly so. â€Å"Having an estimated budget of $ 175. 000. 000 to do the movie. Up was able to gross $ 731. 342. 744 worldwide. as of November 25. 2011† ( Rotten Tomatoes ) . Obviously. audiences from all about have demonstrated their love for the movie. lending to its success. â€Å"Up tells a narrative as titillating to the imaginativeness as the charming alive movies of my childhood. when I naively thought that because their colourss were brighter. their character lineations more defined and their secret plans simpler. they were really more realistic than regular films† ( Ebert ) Peter Travers explains in an article a position felt by most who see the movie stating how â€Å"the film is wondrous amusing and touching ( props t o the gawky hero of a bird Russell names Kevin ) . but what’s truly tickle pinking are the hazards it takes. all set to Michael Giacchino’s ardent. award-caliber score† ( Rolling Stone ) . The award from the Oscars for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures. Original Score was granted to Michael Giacchino. decidedly being deserved. Harmonizing nicely with the life. the musical tonss help you set the temper of the scene. allowing emotions run rampantly. whether in depression or joy. A truly heart-wrenching stoping shows how Carl is able to accomplish his newfound end of true felicity. â€Å"Carl now sits with Russell and his Canis familiaris. able now to reinvent the universe of paternity via the feeding of ice cream† ( Walter Metz 78 ) Peoples should care about what this simple. yet traveling narrative has to demo for because it relates to each and every one of our lives in one manner or another. Carl faces the worst of troubles life brings. and struggles to acquire over the past. but in the terminal realizes that we must construct friendly relationships and do right determinations to accomplish felicity. â€Å"Pixar Lashkar-e-Taibas smart. far-out creative persons indulge their creativeness. † ( All Movie ) assisting to represent the true nature of us as human existences. With all things considered. Up was genuinely an inspirational film. accompanied by blithe laughs along the manner. This movie has efficaciously shown how easy it can be to give up. but when you choose to make the right thing. even if it means rolling from your original end. you will happen felicity.