Originally posted by seanr
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I think sean's final sentence said it all.
The examples used to argue against 'an unfortunate' being considered synonymous with 'a prostitute' in the LVP, when the ripper was active, made me smile. They were either from before the Victorian era [1837-1901] or well into the 20th century!
Francisco, writing in the Bristol Mirror in 1813, on the misapplication of the word unfortunate, would have called this trend 'political correctness gone mad' or 'woke nonsense' in today's parlance. He'd have been positively foaming at the mouth if he was still alive after 1850, to see the term, used as a noun, become commonplace to describe a woman who made ends meet by, er, making ends meet. He'd have calmed down a bit after the Old Queen died, at least until the hard edges of 'prostitutes' were once again softened to become 'sex workers'.
Where would any of us be, without the humble euphemism to inject a little empathy when needed?
Love,
Caz
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