Paper-pusher Sentence Examples

The Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse traditions have a word for a compound expression with a metaphorical meaning: kenning. Simply put, in poetry, a kenning is when you take two words and combine them as a mild translation or metaphor for something else.

So, as you’re sitting by the fire one night, enjoying an anthology of Scandinavian poetry, you might come across poem about five brave men aboard a wave-floater (a ship). Kennings were often used to describe everyday people, animals, and objects.

To no surprise, they were used to brighten up an author’s prose. Why say “a ship” when you can use something more illustrious like “wave floater”? Let’s enjoy further examples of kenning.

The word dysphemism isn't one you're likely to hear used in everyday conversation. It's an unusual term, but it actually describes a common linguistic occurrence. Any time you hear a person using derogatory terminology to substitute for a word or phrase that isn't inherently negative or ugly, that is an example of dysphemism.