密歇根新闻广播 让我们剖析heck这个词

Some of us can't resist muttering or shouting our language's strongest words in moments of anger, pain or shock. However, we also realize there are situations that require us to keep our vocabulary clean.

Fortunately, there's a variety of alternatives to choose. From "gosh" and "darn" to "fudge" and "fiddlesticks," there's a G-rated euphemism¹ to suit just about any situation.

When it comes to versatility², we think that "heck" really stands out.

Heck" is, of course, a euphemism for "hell." Case in point, a movie theater in Tennessee recently changed the title of "Hellboy" to "Heckboy" on its sign, because of the theater's close proximity³ to an elementary school.

Marquees aside, we were surprised to learn that "heck" is one of the younger euphemisms⁴. The Oxford⁵ English Dictionary dates it back to 1865, making it younger than both "darn" and "gosh. It's also more common, perhaps because it can serve as a substitute for other taboo⁶ words.

This New York Times article about the death of Steve Jobs cites an article from the Onion, but the author makes it clear that the title, "Last American who knew what the heck he was doing dies," has been modified. We'll let you guess which word "heck" replaced.

There are plenty of other places to use "heck," though we think that some feel more awkward than others do. For instance, when someone says, "It's all going to heck" or "All heck broke loose," it's so clear they're being euphemistic, the impact of the statement is lost.

However, there are other phrases when "heck" is very idiomatic⁷. Something like "a heck of a lot of money" doesn't sound euphemistic, it just sounds like a phrase. In fact, a heck of is this euphemism's most common form.

Another popular construction is the heck? You have your choice of interrogative pronouns to fill in the blank. The most popular one is "what" with "how" coming in as a close second.

1 euphemism   

n.婉言，委婉的说法

参考例句：

• Language reflects culture and euphemism is a mirror of culture.语言反映文化,而婉语则是各种文化的一面镜子。
• Euphemism is a very common and complicated linguistic phenomenon.委婉语是一种十分常见而又非常复杂的语言现象。

2 versatility   

n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能

参考例句：

• Versatility is another of your strong points,but don't overdo it by having too many irons in the fire.你还有一个长处是多才多艺，但不要揽事太多而太露锋芒。
• This versatility comes from a dual weather influence.这种多样性是由于双重的气候影响而形成的。

3 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

4 euphemisms   

n.委婉语，委婉说法( euphemism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• No point is in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没有必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句
• No point in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

7 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。