Spotted Dick

I couldn't tell which one of them sent me this, but either my father or mother was amused to find this at the grocery store.  I like it that the tab for my upload in Flickr says "All Sizes | Spotted Dick".  I knew what Spotted Dick was, so I'd have been more impressed if they had brought me a can to eat with my Durian Nescafe Ming gave me (don't order me any - it has to be truly random, otherwise I'm not as amused as I can get it myself any time if I was really that jazzed to try it).

What was cool was learning the word dysphemism.  It's like utopia and dystopia, but instead euphemism and dysphemism.  Interestingly, there are euphemistic dysphemisms.  So it's not really just opposite sides of the same kind, it's more fine grained than that and can involve being a euphemism for one group, but a dysphemism for another group, based on the context.  And, for example, it includes a minced oath were someone substitutes a word in a usual phrase that might be offensive: bowlderizes it.  So when Eryn used to say "Oh bommit!" she was engaging in a minced oath.  And, when I call my mother Ellen, I may be guilty of name dysphemism.

Who knew spotted dick was such an educational opportunity.