Practical Etiquette, Period 3, Class #2 - Thursday, May 21st

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Miss Bennet was followed into class by a small trail of tiny Canadian moose. They were adorable and wobbly, and Miss Bennet had to resist the urge to cuddle them. That would not be terribly proper, she reminded herself.

"Today," she said, "I ask that you pay no attention to the delightful moose that have graced us with their presence, unless of course you have food on your person that might be shared with them. In that case, I will ask your assistance in providing our guests with an early lunch. I fear I did not prepare for moose, today.

"Instead, we are to speak of taboos. All cultures have them. In any society, there are certain things one Does Not Discuss. Sometimes there are conditions; one might discuss that topic with a confidante, but not in mixed company. Or one might refer to such things at an evening out, but not while sitting in the pews the next morning at church. These unwritten rules can be confusing to those who have no prior knowledge of the culture, and transgressing them will carry a heavy price."

"So. How is one to avoid breaking rules, when one has not been informed of them?" Miss Bennet smiled generously at her students. "I did say this would be practical etiquette. Today, we will assume that somehow, you have been placed into a society very different from your own, and are hoping to make a good impression -- or at least, enough of a good impression that you are not ostracized, or worse. Where do we begin?

"A good starting point is to avoid those things which are generally improper in most societies -- the specifics of bodily functions, for one, or the particulars of one's romantic encounters. Another is to avoid saying something unpleasant about others. The elder of the tribe may seem a bit dim to you, but he is possibly a much-respected wise man, and making a joke at his expense will earn you scorn.

"An interesting complication to this point is that, again, such matters can be highly cirumstantial. Let us say that your new friend himself made an unkind comment about the tribe elder. This does not mean that you are free to return his comment with one of your own. Familiarity allows for a great many indulgences, ones that are not extended to strangers. You are a guest in this culture; you have not earned the right to treat its members with fond irreverence."

"What will help is to watch the culture's euphemisms. For example, if everyone wears long sleeves and refers awkwardly to their 'arm joints' in hushed voices, then perhaps there is some taboo in that culture surrounding the elbow, and it would be unwise to use the word 'elbow' freely, or to bare your own arms. If everyone refers obliquely to 'acquiring nourishment later,' and takes food back to their own individual rooms quite secretively, then perhaps you should refrain from having lunch where others can observe you. A great deal can be learned from what isn't said.

"Therefore, today's activities. First, I will share a number of euphemisms from my own culture, and each of you may guess what the phrasing refers to, and what the subject in question is. Once that is discovered, we can theorize on what it means that those particular topics inspire indirect language. After that, you will share some of your own euphemisms, and attempt to discern the meaning behind one another's phrases. If your culture does not have any handy euphemisms, you may invent some, so long as the phrasing is somewhat logical. Otherwise the exercise becomes entirely unfair."

One of the moose was investigating Miss Bennet's feet, and she couldn't help laughing. "After that, I will be taking my small guests to lunch, lest they eat my shoes. Shall we begin?"

Not just yet, it would seem; first, there was a knock at the door.

Comments

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

Karla felt a little uncomfortable. All of the euphemisms she could think of were unpleasant.

"He's perfectly beardless, but he still needs to be shaved."

"She shattered her cystal chalice and is now walking through the Twisted Kingdom."

"There's a witch who's just asking to become a Harpy."

"Here's a place where witchblood blooms."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[future_sandworm]

"What are harpies like in your world?" Leto has to ask, because if they were anything like those who had invaded Fandom that was clearly an insult.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"Harpies are a form of demon-dead witches," Karla explained awkwardly. "A Harpy is a Harpy because of the way she died."

Of course it was the way she died that made it a euphemism.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[future_sandworm]

"So the euphemism means she is risking her life in a particular way?" Leto asked.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

That was close enough for Karla. "Yes. Her actions and behaviors seem to be courting the kind of death that would make her a Harpy." An innate sense of fairness and compassion for her Sisters forced her to add, "Though it's doubtful most Harpies deserved the death they got. I doubt many of them would have earned the appellation in life that they received in death."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[future_sandworm]

"And exactly what kind of death makes her a Harpy?" Leto was curious enough to ask.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

Karla looked him directly in the eyes. "She died at a male's hands."

She decided to leave out the 'horribly' part. Which was like politeness.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[future_sandworm]

"That is all?" He met her eyes. "If one is to get killed it's a fifty percent chance, then."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"Many of the Blood do not make the transition to demon-dead. They fade into the Darkness instead." Especially since most people who had a habit of killing others was smart enough to finish the kill. "Fading into the Darkness is itself another euphemism, one I didn't think of as such until now."

Why no, that wasn't said to distract him at all.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[oops-mbad.livejournal.com]

"That first one makes no sense." Diana commented.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

Karla flushed. Maybe she should have just stuck to guessing other people's sayings. "Ummm...it does if you know what shaving it a euphemism for," she said quietly. "When a male is shaved, he joins the Brotherhood of the Quill. Which is another euphemism, I guess."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[oops-mbad.livejournal.com]

"Does it involve sleeping with each other?" Diana checked.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"What? No." Karla looked startled. "That's not really called anything, I guess, other than 'males who like to sleep with other males'. Umm, no, once a male joins the Brotherhood, he doesn't--can't--sleep with anyone at all."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[oops-mbad.livejournal.com]

Diana snorted. "So...monks?"

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"What's a monk?" Karla asked, puzzled.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[oops-mbad.livejournal.com]

"Religious order. They don't have sex either." Diana explained. "Or material needs."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"Oh. No, they aren't monks, then. Being shaved is a punishment. A very...strict one."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Miss Bennet smiled gently, hoping to reassure the girl.

"Is there a physical chalice, or is that expression metaphorical?" she asked. "And 'beardless' sounds as though it implies innocence of some kind. Youth?"

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"The chalice is metaphorical," Karla explained. "As for the second one...it's the second part that's important. I just included the bit about him being beardless for people to have an easier chance of guessing. 'Shaved' is the euphemism, everything else is just there for context."

Her smile was a little wan.

Please don't ask about shaving. Karla begged silently. Please don't ask about shaving. Please don't ask about shaving.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

"A twisted kingdom sounds to be an unpleasant place," Miss Bennet mused. "Is there perhaps insanity implied? A land in which one can no longer discern the landmarks."

She hesitated before offering her own rueful smile. "One presumes that 'shaving' has little to do with removing facial hair, in this instance?"

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"Exactly right." Karla was pleased. "The crystal chalice is my people's way of referring to the mind. Once it is broken, we wander the Twisted Kingdom, which is a euphemism for madness."

It wasn't exactly dropping the topic, but Karla could handle answering that much. "No, shaving has nothing to do with facial hair."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

"Madness is always unfortunate," Miss Bennet said softly. "One would hope that the girl in question might be able to repair her crystal chalice, perhaps with the assistance of others around her. Is shaving a form of reprimand? Making something clean that was somewhat dirty?"

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"It depends how and why the chalice was broken," Karla said sadly. "Black Widows, a caste in my society, are Healers of the minds. But there are some things we cannot heal. There's a difference between the chalice being broken, and the chalice being shattered."

"And, yes, shaving is a form of reprimand. But it has little to do with cleanliness."

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

"I see," she said gently. "Broken and shattered imply quite different things. One has large pieces, and the other has been ground to sand."

She hesitated again. "How ... impolite is this reprimand?" she asked.

Re: Activity - Euphemisms [ET-2]

[glacial_queen]

"Ummm...very." Very very. Very. "I, uh, hadn't thought very far ahead when I listed it." Karla blushed.