Thursday, July 19, 2007

Euphemisms

There's a corner in our church building with a table, some shelves, and a hanging rack, where various pre-owned items appear on a weekly basis, free for the taking. "Pre-owned" is a euphemism that I find utterly hilarious--and appropriate for the car industry. But it's a nice word to use here, too, even though it makes absolutely no sense in relation to its ascribed meaning, if you think about it.

But here is the observation I was going to make. I picked up a shirt the other week from this used clothing rack. It's a cute striped button-down shirt. I like it. The label inside the collar which is meant to proclaim brand name or some such thing says, "Cotton Works" in largish letters. On the other collar-tag, the letters are much smaller, and they announce the shirt to be made of 64% polyester, 32% nylon, and 4% spandex. The word "cotton" is not in evidence.

I mean, I guess I could have figured that out just from the feel of the thing. But am I missing something here?

5 comments:

christianne said...

That is so random. It's funny, but random. I wonder why they made a shirt that has nothing to do with their core competency?

Inihtar said...

Well, doesn't "Cotton Works" sound so much better than "Polyester Works?"
And happy belated birthday.

Thanks for your comment! You have a great blog! I'll be back:)

Jennwith2ns said...

Christianne--well, unless of course it's not their core competency. In which case they're LYING.

Mom--yes.

Inihtar--Good point. And thanks. And thanks for coming back!

Out Of Jersey said...

You mean I don't own a pre-used car?

Jennwith2ns said...

CubeRev--nope. Not a pre-owned one, either. Right? Because if it was pre-owned, wouldn't it be a new car that hadn't been owned yet? And if it was pre-used, presumably it wouldn't have been driven yet. And if you own it, then it isn't pre-owned anymore. And also there would be no point to owning it if you weren't going to use it.

Are you confused yet? ('Cause I think I am.)