***** 5 stars
A great title for a well researched (check the complete bibliography) and enjoyable book that, anyone who likes language, and the way it evolves will read in a day.
Keyes draws almost all of his examples from the anglo-saxon culture, switching from England to the USA. He mentions a few Spanish words but as a French native, I especially enjoyed the references he makes to my heritage.
From “manger les pissenlits par la racine” or eating dandelions by the root when the French talk of death, to the frequent use of French mouth-watering words in the American cuisine, Keyes show that euphemisms vary from one culture to another.
When I moved from Paris to California with my baby daughter I had a hard time to understand what her new pediatrician meant when he asked me about her BM. French aren’t embarrassed when it comes to body functions and it took me a while to refer to the contents of my baby’s diaper as a BM. After many years in the USA, I also say UTI, PMS and IBS, and have learned that stomach in American covers a much larger territory than the organ used in the human digestive system.
However I still favor the word the French use when they want to wish good luck. In American, its polite version is shoot.
Thank you, Mr. Keyes for a fun, well researched and engaging book.
Evelyne Holingue (California)