EUPHEMISMS
Published May 23, 2004
More on "torture," the word and the practice: "Don't torture English to soft-pedal abuse" by Geoffrey Nunberg, in Newsday, adapted from his piece on NPR's "Fresh Air." It quotes Secretary of State Colin Powell saying on Fox News, "Torture is torture is torture." Also "What's in a Word? Torture" by Adam Hochschild, on today's op-ed page of The New York Times. Among other things, it goes into forms of torture such as the "tormentum insomniae" which was "widely used in the Middle Ages on suspected witches" and which is known to us as "sleep management," a 21st-century euphemism that sounds like corporate pillowtalk.
- EUPHEMISMS
- Published: May 23, 2004
- Type: Opinion
- Section:
- Writer: Jan Herman
- Jan Herman's BC Writer page
- Jan Herman's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us



