Date:  Tue, 25 Oct 1994 17:33:44 -0400

From:  "Bethany Dumas, UTK" <DUMASB[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UTKVX.BITNET>

Subject: Consistency of Usage



In response to my comment about the use of "that word" in Knoxville, Roger

Vanderveen asked whether I "always use [conservative] as a euphemism for

bigoted." Well, I don't know whether I do or not. I suspect that I

sometimes use it to mean "Republican" and sometimes use it to mean "non-

liberal" or "non-Liberal." I am certain that I use it to describe Wm Buckley who

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I do not think to be bigoted. But the interesting question here, I think, is tha

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about consistency of usage. Do speakers in general use euphemisms in highlyy

predictable ways such that that are highly restricted in meaning? It

seems to me that if a speaker always used the word "conservtive" as a synonym

for, say, "bigoted," that would be an interesting pattern. I don't know

whether speakers do that or not, but would be interesting to know if anyone

has examined that question.