It appears that President Barack Obama’s speech writers are going to have to spend more time with a thesaurus. As Snapped Shot has observed here, Obama is overusing the expression “deeply concerned.”
Just in case some of those enthralled by the Exalted One misunderstand the meaning of this expression, here is the definition.
DEFINITION: Deeply concerned is what one experiences when one steps into deep doo-doo. Deeply concerned is a euphemism which one uses to avoid the crude admission that one is in deep doo-doo.
Actual examples as used by the Exalted One:
Obviously we are deeply concerned about the employment rate. What we are still seeing is too many jobs lost – too many families who are worried about whether they are going to be next. (from here)
massive unemployment = deep doo-doo
In the Middle East, there is deep concern about Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons capability not simply because of one country wanting nuclear weapons, but the fact that if Iran obtained nuclear weapons, it is an almost — it is almost certain that other countries in the region would then decide to pursue their own programs. (from here)
nuclear weapons + terrorist henchmen = deep doo-doo
Unfortunately, if overused, the expression deeply concerned will lose its efficacy. So we can expect the Exalted One to develop a list of synonyms. Thus Obama will tell us he is deeply troubled (by doo-doo), deeply disquieted (by doo-doo), deeply disturbed (by doo-doo), deeply alarmed (by doo-doo)…..
The Cartoons
Illustrating how President Barack Obama will soothe our deep concerns.
President Obama can continue to be “deeply concerned,” or
.jpg)
He can adopt some of the policies from the previous administration.
Yeah, I just love catch phrases. I notice when they start to get popular, too. It’s like all of a sudden, everyone is using these phrases and before you know it, they are popping out of my mouth, too.
Here’s one that has started to bug the you-know-what out of me: “teaching moment.” Talk about a euphemism for “let’s talk about how you screwed up.”
I am deeply concerned we have so many teaching moments in this country.
Because we too easily take offense, most people do not understand the virtue of plain language. I suspect that is one reason so-called social skills are so important. When we are unable to decipher the true meaning behind euphemisms and other such nonsense, we must invariably experience a failure to communicate.
Some walks of life do not tolerate failures to communicate. I suspect that is why the military has an unambiguous expression for making a “mistake.” Unfortunately the expression is not appropriate for mixed company or a G-rated blog.