97
votes
Accepted
Why is “disabled“ preferred over “handicapped”?
According to linguist John McWhorter the answer is indeed history. Older terms accumulate baggage and are replaced by new terms in what is called the Euphemism Treadmill:
Crippled began as a ...
- 65.1k
71
votes
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Alternative to "queer the deal"?
It reminds me of the usage of jinx, an old word which (at least in my experience) has recently become much more popular amongst young people:
to foredoom to failure or misfortune : bring bad luck ...
- 14.5k
61
votes
Alternative to "queer the deal"?
Queering the deal means to have some (usually last minute) new condition or circumstance to contend with, which threatens the delicate balance of (a perhaps not altogether above-board) negotiated ...
- 15.2k
41
votes
Accepted
What is a less offensive term for "Christian mythology" that still implies it's non-empirical?
“Faith-based beliefs/belief systems” is used and contrasted with “science/evidence-based beliefs/belief systems” in the linked ‘Science 2.0’ article:
Belief systems are the stories we tell ...
- 9,677
35
votes
Alternative term for 'cargo cult'
If you're writing for an IT audience, the term "cargo cult" might be perfectly appropriate. Refer to the Wikipedia entry for cargo cult programming or this article on Medium, "The ...
- 403
31
votes
Alternative term for 'cargo cult'
I'm going to give you a sad answer:
There isn't one.
I posted the same question quite a while ago on an "inclusive language" forum and the dozen people there -- folks who are paid to think ...
- 371
25
votes
Man-hour vs. person-hour? Is the former now considered politically incorrect?
Here is a Google Ngram chart that tracks the frequency of occurrence of "man hours" (blue line) versus "person hours" (red line) in the Google Books database over the years 1900–2008:
Several things ...
- 161k
25
votes
What is a less offensive term for "Christian mythology" that still implies it's non-empirical?
You can simply refer to them as religious beliefs. No need for "system" or "faith-based", as they might or might not be systematized, and faith-based is redundant. "Cult mythology" is likely to be ...
- 18.9k
21
votes
What is a less offensive term for "Christian mythology" that still implies it's non-empirical?
You could use 'theist doctrine'
Theist - noun
1 - a person who believes in the doctrine of theism
2 - a person who believes in the existence of God or gods
www.dictionary.com
...
- 11.2k
20
votes
Accepted
What disrespectful connotations does "redline" have?
Not so much disrespectful, but loaded: redlining is a legal term that comes with some baggage.
As Cornell explains,
Redlining can be defined as a discriminatory practice that consists of the ...
- 8,310
19
votes
Is it okay to use the word "Negro" in a historical context?
In the context of this class, and definitely in the name of the movement, I would say it's okay. To be even more safe, you can refer to the movement as the "New Negro Movement" and its members as ...
- 2,177
18
votes
How would you say that a woman/spirit has big breasts in a politely/politically correct way? (Folk Story)
Looking at the image there's nothing "beautiful" about the woman's mammary glands. The colloquial term "tits" is vulgar, so use the formal, inoffensive, "breasts". The ...
- 90.3k
18
votes
Alternative term for 'cargo cult'
Magical thinking is a possibility. Wikipedia defines it as "the belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as ...
- 8,745
16
votes
Alternative to "queer the deal"?
Don't sour the deal
One of the definitions at oxforddictionaries.com is:
(verb) Make or become unpleasant, acrimonious, or difficult.
[with object] ‘a dispute soured relations between the two ...
- 523
16
votes
What is a politer way to criticize someone's throwing than 'throws like a girl'?
While I don't believe this is a common expression, you could possibly replace "girl" with "child" to give the same impression:
"Throws like a child"
This keeps the same ...
- 263
15
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to use the word "Negro" in a historical context?
Is it okay to use the word “Negro” in a historical context?
Yes, absolutely. If that was term used, even in a pejorative sense, in the context of serious research you can always include things that ...
- 459
15
votes
What is a politer way to criticize someone's throwing than 'throws like a girl'?
There is no one set phrase that would substitute for "like a girl." You could just call it a weak throw or you could express the body motion involved.
The main issue with throwing "like ...
- 39.4k
14
votes
Alternative to "queer the deal"?
The answer by Glorfindel identifies "jinx" as a very good option, which I agree with for the "superstition" meaning; it seems to substitute well in the form "jinx it", such as "I don't want to jinx it"...
- 1,137
14
votes
Alternative to "queer the deal"?
It is related to the panoply of expressions for which queer is used, comprising various markers - often derogatory, some of them such as the association with homosexuality now considered offensive. ...
- 64.5k
13
votes
Accepted
How would you say that a woman/spirit has big breasts in a politely/politically correct way? (Folk Story)
The words that you would use must express as closely as possible the intended meaning of the original. So, perhaps, in case you have not done this already, it makes sense to write down the story in ...
- 622
12
votes
Why is it unacceptable to use the word "conquer"?
Your instructor is wrong to suggest that 'conquered' is politically incorrect. The primary meaning of conquer remains to overcome or take control of somewhere, something or someone by military force. ...
- 494
10
votes
Accepted
Politically correct substitutes for (fe)male and (wo)man
You are looking for a practical answer, not a theoretical one: politically correct terms that are acceptable in practice. So I looked for competing terms that are actually being adopted in the wild.
...
- 28.4k
10
votes
What is a less offensive term for "Christian mythology" that still implies it's non-empirical?
If you're speaking specifically of the Biblical account of creation, I would use the term "Judeo-Christian creation story." The term "creation story" contextualizes it in the general category of ...
- 19.9k
10
votes
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Alternative for "tone-deaf"
It’s insensitive. See for example these headlines:
A culturally insensitive nursing textbook illustrates the pickle medicine is in
How Being Polite Can Be Insensitive to People with Disabilities
- 65.1k
9
votes
How is the term "African-American" politically correct?
So you want to assure us that your question has no "political" or "sociological" connotations. Well, OK, I'll pretend to believe you, mostly because I can't read your mind. But it's difficult to ...
- 44.6k
9
votes
Accepted
The use of "horizontally gifted"
This is absolutely sarcasm rather than polite or politically correct. Don’t use it.
- 9,207
9
votes
What disrespectful connotations does "redline" have?
The term comes originally from residential lending and insurance maps, where different zones would be outlined in different colors, and those deemed highest risk would be outlined in red. People ...
- 20.1k
8
votes
What is a less offensive term for "Christian mythology" that still implies it's non-empirical?
Officially it would be legend, but I don't think that's what you aim at. I'd say biblical mythology if I were you. Maybe even better would be to note in the beginning that you’re an atheist and then ...
- 89
8
votes
Accepted
Is there a way to determine how offensive a word is?
Is there a way to determine how offensive a word is?
Yes, there are several ways, depending on your need: Do you need to know how offensive or will is it offensive do? How specific does the data need ...
- 65.1k
8
votes
Why is “disabled“ preferred over “handicapped”?
In Italian, "handicappato" has also been replaced with "disabile", the former was used as an insult to challenge someone's intelligence or behaviour. When I was a child living in ...
- 90.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible