Definition and Examples of Visual Euphemisms

Definition and Examples of Visual Euphemisms Visual euphemism is the use of a pleasing or inoffensive image to represent an object, concept, or experience thats considered unpleasant, distasteful, or distressingly explicit. In  Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language (2006),  Keith Allan and Kate Burridge point out that visual euphemisms are commonplace; for example,  low-calorie salad dressing (usually  oil-free) is presented in shapely, slender-waisted bottles. The shape, the cleverly altered spelling and reversed coloring on some of the packaging sends out the message non-fattening loud and clear. Examples and Observations Good  visual euphemisms are  to be found in advertisements concerned with false teeth- something that no one wants to see. An advertisement for one fixative simply shows two beautiful slim blue cylinders fitting together perfectly, as a voice  Ã‚  praises the efficiency and salubriousness of the product.(Toni-Lee Capossela,  Language Matters. Harcourt Brace,  1995) Visual Euphemisms in Everyday Life: Romance in the Toilet Bowl CleanerSociety has many instances of visual euphemisms. Bald men wear toupees. Both sexes wear contact lenses. Fig leaves hide the genitals of statues. Pubic hair was airbrushed out of soft-porn photographs until the 1960s. The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals designed boxer shorts, knickers, and petticoats to cover the sex organs of animals during the 1960s (cf. Fryer 1963:19). Frilled pantalettes modestly hid the limbs (legs could not properly be mentioned, especially in America, see Read 1934:265) of the table and the pianoforte during the V ictorian era. . . .Attractive packaging itself is a kind of euphemism: emphasis on appearance instead of the product contrasts strikingly with the old-time grocer who displayed items in bulk. Lighting effects that redden meat, the waxing of fruit, and the attractive packaging are cosmetic; and like verbal euphemism, they create a positive illusion. Still photography, film, and television are superb media for deceptive euphemisms. . . . These media present a world of perfected forms in which there is romance in the toilet bowl cleaner, poetry in the sanitary napkin, temptation in the tampon, and beauty in a glass of dentures.(Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as a Shield and Weapon. Oxford University Press, 1991) SharksAs trash-happy and ridiculous as it sounds, the movie [Spring Break Shark Attack] isnt just another load of tired old beach bunk. For one thing, the scary parts really are scary, enough so that little kids should be sent to their roomswhere, presumably, they can watch the less menacing aquatic antics of SpongeBob SquarePants. . . .When a partly eaten shark victim washes up onshore, for example, he really looks like a partly eaten shark victim, not the scrubbed-up visual euphemism of TV times gone by. Is this progress? Wellkinda?(Tom Shales, Cue the Shark Music and Prepare to Be Scared. The Washington Post, March 19, 2005) Sexual EncountersVictorian novels and pictures frequently feature a woman enthroned on a gentlemans knee as a visual euphemism for sexual encounter. Although William Holman Hunts famous picture The Awakening Conscience (1854) indicated that the fallen woman regained her moral conviction by showing her in the act of rising from her lovers knee, many pictures a nd stories celebrated the happy wife, held by her husband on his knee as both sweetheart and child.(Judith Farr, The Passion of Emily Dickinson. Harvard University Press, 1992) Deception and SecrecyThere is no doubt that some euphemism adds dimensions of deception and secrecy. And in the case of the visual euphemism the illusion is very effective. Its always much harder to prove misrepresentation when a claim is expressed non-verbally; in other words, not in propositional language with actual nouns and verbs. The visual euphemism can be a lot more sneaky.(Kate Burridge, Weeds in the Garden of Words: Further Observations on the Tangled History of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2005)

Dealing With the Check 21 Banking Law

Dealing With the 'Check 21' Banking Law A sweeping new federal banking law known as â€Å"Check 21† will go into effect beginning October 28, speeding up check processing and putting consumers at risk for more bounced checks and fees, warns Consumers Union. The consumer group is advising consumers to keep a careful eye on their bank statements in the coming months and issued a set of tips to avoid some of the law’s potentially negative impacts. â€Å"Check 21 will be a boon for the banks who will save billions of dollars once it’s fully implemented,† said Gail Hillebrand, Senior Attorney with Consumers Union’s West Coast Office in a CU press release. â€Å"Consumers could end up losing out if they’re not careful and if banks use the new law as an excuse to bounce more checks and collect more fees.† Starting October 28, 2004, consumers will discover that their bank account statements will come with fewer – or perhaps none – of their canceled paper checks, as banks begin to process checks electronically. Consumers will enjoy less â€Å"float,† meaning that the checks they write will clear much faster. Under the new law, checks could clear as early as the same day, but banks won’t be under any obligation to make funds from checks that consumers deposit into their accounts available any sooner. That could mean more bounced checks and more overdraft fees paid by consumers. Banks maintain that the law will be implemented gradually, but consumers will begin to experience its effects in the coming months as more and more banks and merchants take advantage of electronic processing and other provisions of the law. So even if a consumer’s bank doesn’t implement Check 21 right away, another bank or merchant that processes the consumer’s check might choose to do so. That means the original check may never be returned to the consumer’s bank so the consumer won’t receive the canceled paper check in their bank statement. And any check the consumer writes might clear as early as the same day. Consumers Union is advising consumers to review their bank statements carefully to get a better sense of how Check 21 is affecting them and offers the following tips to avoid its potential pitfalls: Expect the checks you write to clear faster, but not your deposited checks: Dont write a check unless the funds are already in your account.The checks you write will clear faster, but banks arent required to speed up the time when they make funds available from checks that you deposit.Most banks will credit checks you deposit into your account in one day if the check is local. Deposits that are made through ATMs can take an extra day to be credited to your account.And out-of-town checks you deposit can take additional days to be credited to your account.The best way to ensure that your paycheck will be deposited quickly is to arrange for direct deposit through your workplace. Social Security check recipients can also arrange for direct deposit. (Note: starting in 2013, Social Security stopped issuing paper benefit checks.)Ask for a â€Å"recredit† right in writing if your bank makes a check processing error: If a check you write is paid twice, or paid for the wrong amount, or something else goes wrong with your checking account, you may have the right to â€Å"recredit† under Check 21. This â€Å"recredit† right means that you are entitled to have the funds returned to your account within 10 business days unless the bank proves that there was no error. If something goes wrong with your checking account, make a written request that your bank recredit the funds to your account. Your bank can avoid the 10-day recredit deadline if you did not receive a substitute check.Ask for a substitute check if there is a problem with your account involving a check: Check 21 restricts recredit to consumers who were provided with a substitute check. If there is a problem with your account involving a check, always ask for a substitute check, which is a special kind of copy of your paper check. If you now get your original checks back, you could ask for an account that returns substitute checks every month. If your bank charges too much for an account that returns substitute checks every month, look for another bank.Find out how your bank plans to treat you under Check 21: Not all banks plan to implement Check 21 in the same manner. Find out if your bank will give you a substitute check if you ask for one and if it plans to charge customers an extra fee for a substitute check. And find out if your bank places a hold on your deposits so you can take steps to avoid bouncing checks and paying overdraft fees once the checks you write start to clear more quickly under Check 21. A fact sheet on the Check 21 law is available at:  federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/regcc-faq-check21.htm