DYSPHEMISM

PRONUNCIATION: (DIS-fuh-miz-em)

MEANING: noun: The substitution of a harsher, deprecating, or offensive term in place of a relatively neutral term.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek dys- (bad) + -phemism (as in euphemism). Earliest documented use: 1884. The opposite is euphemism.

NOTES: Examples include “death tax” for “estate tax” and “snail mail” for “paper mail”.
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DY-SPHERISM - belief in two suns

DAYS-PHEMISM - Women's Lib while the sun shines

DYS-HEMISM - show disrespect for the claim that stocks follow the length of women's skirts, with a six-month lag