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Of Lipstick And Pigs

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by Daniel Colarusso
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Oct 20 2008 7:00pm EDT

Of Lipstick and Pigs

Minyanville.com has a little fun at the expense of financial regulators and the human resources departments of the world with a take on corporate doublespeak.

While we've all become accustomed to calling mass firings "downsizings" and, for instance, the federal bailout a "rescue package," writer Mike Schuster says the euphemisms have a more problematic edge. And he invokes the memory of George Carlin's routine on the evolution of "shell shock" to "post-traumatic stress disorder," to make his point.

"It's important to remember that business doublespeak isn't the same as, say, the language of political correctness. Though PC terms will always have their detractors, they're intended to minimize offenses between people, on the level of personal relationships," Schuster writes. "Euphemisms on the corporate level, however, are much more dangerous. They eliminate transparency, confuse the public and obscure fraudulent practices."

Also on Minyanville.com today:

TJ Maxx Pays Its Bills, Reaps Rewards
Business News Gets a Pop, for Now

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