On Thu, 2005-09-01 at 13:34 +0200, Cyrille Moureaux wrote: > Hi, > > > Thanks for your help. > > > >>I think you mean euphemism. > > > > Senior citizen is a euphemism for "elderly person." > > Tofu-eating communists is a euphemism for what? > > I don't think it's a euphemism. In places where tofu is not commonly > consumed (I'd imagine that to be at least Europe, the USA, Canada), it's > generally associated with healthy eating, vegetarianism (or veganism).
Ah, that explains why I had never heard of it. If I was a communist, my commune would be celebrating with a nice pig roast, a bottle or two of good red wine and then some vigorous sports competition to work it off. That's fun and nearly healthy :-) On reflection, I suppose not so much fun if you are a pig or a grape. > From there, the association is extended to ecologists and/or hippies > (if such a thing still exists), and again by people who like their world > simple to left-leaning politics and more. I guess "tofu-eating" could > have been replaced and/or complemented with things like "godless", "long > haired", "tree hugging", etc. Well hugging a tree is probably ok if you are really desperate for a partner. > I don't believe the original expression was a specific reference to a > person supporting the application of Marx economic theories while > enjoying a dish based on tofu ;-) Just a good old bit of old fashioned stereotyping, then. -- Ian Lynch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ZMSL
