"Thank you for not smoking" and other euphemisms

[tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)]

[Not to pick on Alan, but I clipped out 8 (eight) separate cc: copies
besides the main address! People, take a minute to trim the
ever-accumulating cc: list. If someone is subscribed to CP, they don't need
a separate copy. And so on.]

At 1:11 AM 8/9/96, Alan Horowitz wrote:
>Nrth Carolina Jury instructions also mention that petite jurors are
>"discouraged" from asking questions of the witness. I guess that means
>they are not forbidden to do so.

"Petite jurors" Is this a typo, or a special term of art in North Carolina?

But your "discouraged" point is well-taken, an all too common. Other
examples are:

"Thank you for not smoking" (Suggesting they'll thank me if I don't smoke,
but not actually forbid me from smoking. Of course, this euphemism means
"Smoking forbidden.")

"Donations suggested." This usually for leftist events, e.g., a speech by a
Nicaraguan freedom fighter. Of course, what they really mean is "admission
fee mandatory," but they call it a "suggested donation." I doubt one will
be arrested for barging through the door without paying the "suggested
donation," but this is a possibility, as they may deny admission.

(And then there's the "sliding scale donation suggested," say, from $5 to
$15. Presumably this is the embodiment of pure Marxist theory, "from each
according to his ability, to each according to his need." Be interesting to
see their reaction if one declined to make any donation.)

--Tim May





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