“A childhood can be judged sheltered or not according to which was learned first, the four-letter word or the euphemism.”

—  Mignon McLaughlin

The Complete Neurotic's Notebook (1981), Unclassified

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A childhood can be judged sheltered or not according to which was learned first, the four-letter word or the euphemism." by Mignon McLaughlin?
Mignon McLaughlin photo
Mignon McLaughlin 278
American journalist 1913–1983

Related quotes

Lenny Bruce photo

“Life is a four-letter word.”

Lenny Bruce (1925–1966) comedian and social critic

Lenny Brucehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5241370.stm

Dorothy Parker photo

“Now, look, baby, 'Union' is spelled with 5 letters. It is not a four-letter word.”

Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist
Sergey Lavrov photo

“I don't want to use four-letter words.”

Sergey Lavrov (1950) Russian politician and Foreign Minister
George Wallace photo

“You’ve got some folks out here who know a lot of four letter words. But there are two four-letter words they don’t know. W-O-R-K and S-O-A-P, you don’t know those two letter words I’ll tell you that much.”

George Wallace (1919–1998) 45th Governor of Alabama

18th October 1968
1960s
Source: https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/flatview?cuecard=34499

Martin Amis photo

“I think it's the whole impulse to judge and censor and euphemize, that is the enemy.”

Martin Amis (1949) Welsh novelist

"Political Correctness: Robert Bly and Philip Larkin" (1997)
Context: I think it's the whole impulse to judge and censor and euphemize, that is the enemy. … What fun, to feel superior to T. S. Eliot. And that's the impulse that I am suspicious of.

Athanasius of Alexandria photo

“Others such as these met him in the outer mountain and thought to mock him because he had not learned letters. And Antony said to them, 'What do you say? Which is first, mind or letters? And which is the cause of which— mind of letters or letters of mind.' And when they answered mind is first and the inventor of letters, Antony said, 'Whoever, therefore, has a sound mind has not need of letters.”

Athanasius of Alexandria (295–373) Patriarch of Alexandria

§ 73
Life of Anthony of Egypt

Cole Porter photo

“Good authors, too, who once knew better words
Now only use four-letter words
Writing prose —
Anything goes.”

Cole Porter (1891–1964) American composer and songwriter

"Anything Goes"
Anything Goes (1934)

Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet photo

“It is the office of Judges to advance laws made for religion, according to their end, though the words be short and imperfect.”

Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet (1554–1625) English politician

Colt v. Glover (1614), Lord Hobart's Rep. 157.

Bono photo

“Don't get me too excited because I use four letter words when I get excited.”

Bono (1960) Irish rock musician, singer of U2

PENN Address (2004)
Context: Don't get me too excited because I use four letter words when I get excited.
I'd just like to say to the parents, your children are safe, your country is safe, the FCC has taught me a lesson and the only four letter word I'm going to use today is P-E-N-N. Come to think of it 'Bono' is a four-letter word. The whole business of obscenity — I don't think there's anything certainly more unseemly than the sight of a rock star in academic robes. It's a bit like when people put their King Charles spaniels in little tartan sweats and hats. It's not natural, and it doesn't make the dog any smarter.

Peter Kreeft photo

“Kreeft calls the word "interesting": "that all-purpose meaningless euphemism."”

Peter Kreeft (1937) American philosopher

The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind the Lord of the Rings, Ignatius Press (2005), p. 9

Related topics