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Hello, So I need help to settle something once and for all. Over the holidays a friend and myself casually started a conversation about the meaning of Double Entendre and one of us compared it to Euphemism and so the Holiday Debate of 2011 began. It is still raging on to say the least and I find myself not wanting to give up my argument. Here's the dealy-o, One say Double Entendre is NOT the same as Euphemism or even related to the same idea. The other says they are related and are similar if not the same. The one claims they are similar because Euphemism is in the "see also" section of Double Entendre Wikipedia page. Also there's this: http://www.amazon.com/Double-Entendre-Daily-euphemistic-calendar/dp/1456551426So if anyone is interested in shedding some light on this it would be greatly appreciated. I didn't mentioned who thought what to avoid any bias. So Thank you in advance and can't wait to hear your answers.
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They're related in that they both convey some slightly taboo meaning with cleaned up language. A euphemism would be something like darn for damn or heck for hell. A double entrendre would be saying something that sounds innocent but is really meant as a sexual suggestion. There are other uses for double entendre that aren't sexual in nature. Wikipedia has a good section on Double Entendre.
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that's the wiki article our interlocutor calls out for the "see also" connection; but many of those connections are very, very loose, including this one. (see, e.g., coincidence, pun, spoonerism)
in answer to the question posed in the OP, I'd side with the NOT the same!
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Pooh-Bah
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In a way...I think they are opposites.
euphemism are used to replace words that might offend in some way
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No. No. Not the same thing at all, except very occasionally, and that's usually due to coincidence.
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Pooh-Bah
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So far
I count 3 against them being the same
and one non committal
(not including the original post)
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old hand
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"It takes a lot of brass to play all those trombones in a dorm at 3:00 AM." Double entendre, no euphemism.
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stranger
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Well I appreciate all the answers, I really do. Now to sort of defend or rather explain my point. I still understand it this way: euphemism and double entendre is the action of replacing the original meaning of a phrase/word with another phrase/word. For what I gather from these answers the actual use may differ but the action of replacing words is still there. Not to mention that the literal meaning of double entendre is "double understanding" or double meaning, which I think euphemisms qualify on this merit. This is how I relate them to one another, is that still incorrect? By the way thanks a bunch for your answers. Sirs you are gentlemen and scholars. 
Last edited by AlphanumericName; 01/04/12 06:08 AM.
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"It takes a lot of brass to play all those trombones in a dorm at 3:00 AM." Double entendre, no euphemism. Isn't brass a euphemism for something else, such as "It takes a lot of balls..." But you replace it with 'brass' as to not offend, which is what euphemisms are.
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"It takes a lot of brass to play all those trombones in a dorm at 3:00 AM." Double entendre, no euphemism. Isn't brass a euphemism for something else, such as "It takes a lot of balls..." But you replace it with 'brass' as to not offend, which is what euphemisms are. isn't being used in a literal sense so brass isn't really being used as a euphemism for balls. Even in something like, "It takes a lot of nerve ..." nerve isn't being used in a literal sense. These are all being used metaphorically. If they had been talking about any of a number of sports games, using balls could be considered double entendre. The fact that they were talking about a brass instrument makes the use of brass the double entendre but it's not really a euphemism.
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any questions regarding which side of this issue AName came down on?! 
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It would be a euphenmism to call it "risque" instead of "dirty."
I use euphemism to mean an acceptable substitute for an unacceptable [pick your part of speech]. "Custodial engineer" for "janitor" springs to mind, janitor being interpretable as degrading, lower-caste, shameful, undesirable, and generally negative if you are inclined to take it so. No double-meaning there at all.
"Takes a lot of brass to play the tuba" is a pun by virtue of the tuba being made of a lot of brass, but it isn't a double-entendre since there's nothing salacious about the implied meaning. Even though it does indeed have two meanings: nerve, and metal (mettle?).
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any questions regarding which side of this issue AName came down on?! Yeah I'm still in the camp that they are somewhat similar, I believe I mentioned it on my second post. And I feel the longer the discussion is the less I'm grasping the specific use for each. One thing I still stand by, which was my original point, is that they both use words/phrases to mask the real words/phrases.
Last edited by AlphanumericName; 01/04/12 06:34 PM.
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"Takes a lot of brass to play the tuba" is a pun by virtue of the tuba being made of a lot of brass, but it isn't a double-entendre since there's nothing salacious about the implied meaning. Even though it does indeed have two meanings: nerve, and metal (mettle?).
The dictionaries I've looked it up in agree that the definition of double-entendre is 'a word or expression with a double meaning' adding 'especially when one is salacious or risqué.' In other words, the risqué qualification is common but not necessary.
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hunch
a euphmism is a word that is used as a replacement in order to soften or obscure the meaning of an ugly or unpleasant word.
A double entendre is a word that is used to transmit a veiled message. (though obvious enough to be understood)
In a way the are opposites. (I think)
One to obscure against one to reveal.
(A double entendre can go for sexual insinuations, irony, insults and maybe much more)
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Euphemism, intended to obscure:
"Young man, despair,
Likewise go to,
Yum-Yum the fair
You must not woo.
It will not do,
I'm sorry for you,
You very imperfect ablutioner!"
-- Pooh-Bah, in The Mikado, Act I
Translation: You stink! (Or at the very least -- you need a bath...)
Ernest Bramah, in his Kai Lung books, sparkles with many more of these. And he makes you think they're compliments. Until you decipher them...
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old hand
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Another question is euphemism more similar to irony than it is to double entendre? I think it is in that both involve substitution. How do they differ then? Is the substituted word/phrase in irony necessarily opposite to the real meaning; while in euphemism there is a slight extension of meaning. I think euphemism is similar to DE only in that DE is complete extension while euphemism is part substitution and part extension.
PS: is a raven like a writing desk?
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dou·ble-en·ten·dre (dbl-än-tändr, d-blä-tädr) KEY
NOUN:
A word or phrase having a double meaning, especially when the second meaning is risqué.
The use of such a word or phrase; ambiguity.
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ETYMOLOGY:
Obsolete French : double, double + entendre, to mean, interpretation AHD eu·phe·mism (yf-mzm) KEY
NOUN:
The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: "Euphemisms such as 'slumber room' . . . abound in the funeral business" (Jessica Mitford).
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ETYMOLOGY:
Greek euphmismos, from euphmizein, to use auspicious words, from euphmi, use of auspicious words : eu-, eu- + phm, speech; see bh-2 in Indo-European roots
AHD A double entendre, most of the time, is not used as a replacement, but in and of itself. That is, the writer or speaker chose the word(s) specifically because it would have a double meaning. I finally thought of an example: a man is recounting a visit wherein a buxom woman showed him her garden, and he says, "She has great cantaloupes". Had he not wanted to make the joke he might have simply said she has a nice garden.
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"It takes a lot of brass to play all those trombones in a dorm at 3:00 AM." Double entendre, no euphemism. Isn't brass a euphemism for something else, such as "It takes a lot of balls..." But you replace it with 'brass' as to not offend, which is what euphemisms are. Nope. It's brass as in brazen (made of brass), hard, resistant. Much older than "a lot of balls." It's analogy, but it isn't euphemism.
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stranger
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"It takes a lot of brass to play all those trombones in a dorm at 3:00 AM." Double entendre, no euphemism. Isn't brass a euphemism for something else, such as "It takes a lot of balls..." But you replace it with 'brass' as to not offend, which is what euphemisms are. Nope. It's brass as in brazen (made of brass), hard, resistant. Much older than "a lot of balls." It's analogy, but it isn't euphemism. LoL I believe certain balls precede Brass by a long shot. -_- Also I am floored by the quality of input from all of you, I'm glad I brought my question here. I believe I will cede my position on this matter after reading you're replies, but not entirely though. I feel there is something in my belief which still stands true, I might not be making my point across as well as I'd like though since a few replies do sort of mention the similarity I believe exists but I believe Avy said it best "Why is a raven like a desk?" Why indeed...
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Pooh-Bah
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No....'thank you' AName. You generated an interesting discussion
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Certainly there are similarities between euphemisms and double-entendres, but there are also differences. Which way one wants to lean in terms of calling euphemisms and double-entendres alike or not is up to the individual leaner. Either to say that they identical or that they are totally different would be wrong.
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...Ravens and Writing-Desks and such... It's been a subject of analysis for years. Decades, even. Almost, but not quite, centuries. When I first heard it, it came with its own answer: -- Q: Why is a Raven like a Writing-Desk? -- A: The higher, the farther. Garbage in, garbage out. But it's been considered in depth by much cleverer minds than mine. See here for one such disquisition.
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yes, and..
Q. What's the difference between a duck?
A. One leg is both the same.
or..
B. A red door on a motorcycle.
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"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
In my opinion this riddle is better without an answer. I got a kick out of learning of it here. If you dismiss it as a non sequitur its funny and lends itself to finish a heated argument in a humorous way.
But after looking it up and learning the meaning its such an awesome and very deep way of making a point that I believe applies to my original post. A lot of people answer this riddle with their own opinions, of similarities between the raven and the desk. They are not wrong, but also it is not the answer to the riddle.
That's why I found it amusing how well it applies to my question. Not to mention it did make me laugh out loud when I connected the dots.
Plus I think Faldage explained my own opinion better than I did. As to the opposing opinion in my argument with my friend, he took a more extreme and firm stance implying that they are not at all the same.
I might still be wrong but I tend to understand words in a more flexible manner.
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"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" There is an N in neither and a B in both.
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"No, I give it up," Alice replied. "What's the answer?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter.
"Nor I," said the March Hare.
At this point I always took 'none' for an answer. Hatter and Hare's answers are the perfect anti climax.
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When I was a child, I answered this question with 'they both begin with "R"' and imagined LC say, "Ah but they don't, you see! A writing desk has a "w" in front of it." I used to be dazzled by the ingenuity of this little escape route to what I thought was the obvious answer. All grown up now (I think), I don't answer it any more like all other questions of life.
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I take your point, A-ZName - if I were a Filing clerk, Double-Entendre and Euphemism would be quite near each other in the filing cabinet. 
I'm immortal until proven otherwise
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When I was a child, I answered this question with 'they both begin with "R"' ... I've often said that the fourth R was Spelling.
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Fourth R? First R - "r"; second r - "wr"; third r - "rh"; fourth r - "are".. ? Am I barking with my nose pointing all wrong?
Last edited by Avy; 01/07/12 02:41 AM.
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Pooh-Bah
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......
I might still be wrong .....
And is this what you told your friend??
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Fourth R? First R - "r"; second r - "wr"; third r - "rh"; fourth r - "are".. ? Am I barking with my nose pointing all wrong?
My point is illustrated: Reading Writing Arithmetic These are the three Rs?!
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AName, I'm with you that the two share similar functions, though in perhaps different directions.
the raven/writing desk thing is a zen koan in my mind. and a good one, too.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Fourth R? First R - "r"; second r - "wr"; third r - "rh"; fourth r - "are".. ? Am I barking with my nose pointing all wrong?
My point is illustrated: Reading Writing Arithmetic These are the three Rs?! The 3 "R"s are, in fact, Reading, Riting and Reckoning (not 'Rithmetic) [If as taught to the Mock turtle, it is Reeling and Writhing, of course]
I'm immortal until proven otherwise
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Pooh-Bah
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Now...that makes sense Rhuby
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Ahhh! Now I 'stood. (Though my attempt wasn't bad eh? It fit your fourth R is a spelling hypothesis)
Rhube - with their tails in their mouths and crumbs all over.
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(if you can believe Wikipedia) This is the song I was exposed to growing up: Reading and 'riting and 'rithmetic
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Just a little update.
I finally showed my friend this thread and it was amusing hearing him chuckle and fist pump every time he read a post that supported his opinion. After a bit more debating he insisted that he never said ED/Euphemisms were 'absolutely' different. It goes without saying that worked my nerve a bit because I am sure he did, otherwise I wouldn't have gone on about it this long.
But it ended up being we both think there are some similarities between the two. So there were no winners in this "battle of wits", only losers. Still I learned a lot, mainly about restraining myself from bashing some ones head in with a dictionary. Oh and the raven, that one's bound to stick in my head from now on.
Last edited by AlphanumericName; 01/08/12 06:13 AM.
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