about growing up in State College, Pennsylvania recently appeared in the Centre Daily Times. When I was eight and my brother Gene was eleven, we walked to the Centre Daily Times‘s office every day after school. On the way we’d pass through town, the Corner Restaurant, Murphy’s five and dime, and Rae & Derrick’s Drug …
What's New
New Yorker
Ralph was interviewed about political misquotations by Lauren Collins of The New Yorker. OOOPS Dept. NAMES IN VAIN The New Yorker, February 27, 2012 Last month, François Hollande, the Socialist candidate for the French Presidency, launched his campaign in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget, vowing before fifteen thousand supporters that he would “change the …
Publishers Weekly
After a lively examination of catch phrases in his previous book, I Love It When You Talk Retro, Keyes takes on the use of euphemisms. With a variegated assortment of verbal evasions, which he sees as tools for discussing touchy topics, Keyes suggests that euphemisms provide “an accurate barometer of changing attitudes.” He covers everything …
Ralph on NPR’s All Things Considered
Ralph recently appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered program. [audio:https://ralphkeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Keyes-Euphemania_atc_16.mp3|titles=Keyes, Euphemania_atc_16] Transcript below: MELISSA BLOCK, host: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I’m Melissa Block. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: And I’m Robert Siegel. In his new book about euphemisms, Ralph Keyes takes me back to browsing through a book on my parents’ bookshelf about …
Los Angeles Times review of Euphemania
Book review: Euphemistically speaking In ‘Euphemania,’ Ralph Keyes looks at euphemisms — how they came to be and why we use them. His earlier book looked at vintage phrases. By Lori Kozlowski Los Angeles Times January 27, 2011 It’s the way that we talk that fascinates Ralph Keyes. The words we choose to express the …
Time Magazine Interview with Ralph Keyes
Hooking Up and Using the John: Why Do We Use So Many Euphemisms? Author Ralph Keyes is intrigued by how we say certain things without quite saying them. In Euphemania: Our Love Affair with Euphemisms, he explores subjects that have inspired creative phrasing, from sex and money to food and death. Whether it’s because we …