Code word (figure of speech)
Encyclopedia
A code word is a word or a phrase designed to convey a predetermined meaning to a receptive audience, while remaining inconspicuous to the uninitiated.
Informal code words can find use in propaganda
, distinct from use of euphemistic
code words to delay or avoid emotional responses in the audience. They may be intended to be construed as generalized platitudes by the majority of listeners, but as quite specific promises by those for whom the specific wording was crafted.
Medical
- A doctor may refer to a suspected case of tuberculosis as "Koch's Disease" in order to avoid alarming patients.
- Some medical nicknames are derogatory, such as GOMERGOMERA GOMER is a medical slang term for a patient in a hospital who is demented or bordering on death, hence taking up room unnecessarily in the hospital...
for "Get Out of My Emergency Room".
- Emergency rescue workers or policePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officers may say, "There is a 'K'," to mean a dead body. Valtteri Suomalainen reported eksi (from exitus lethalis), in use in hospitals in Finland.
- Code Pink in some hospitals can mean a missing baby, and the initiation of an all staff response.
Commercial
- Some stores have special codes that allow one employee to inform another that a certain customer in the store needs to be watched because they are acting in a suspicious manner similar to the typical behavior of a shoplifterShopliftingShoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
.
- Movie theater employees may say, "Mr. Johnson is in theater number three" to indicate that there is a fire or smoke in that theater. Nightclubs and bars often use the name "Mr. SandsInspector SandsInspector Sands is a code phrase used by public transport authorities in the United Kingdom, including Network Rail and London Underground, to alert staff and other agencies, such as the police, to an emergency or potential emergency such as a fire or bomb scare without alerting the public and...
".
Fiction
- In Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Captain Kirk's code word "condition green" meant, "I am being detained by force and watched; please help immediately."
- In the book and film Airport, the name Lester Mainwaring is used to indicate a police officer is needed at a certain place. If an announcement over the public address system indicated that Lester Mainwaring was wanted at a particular ticket counter, the nearest police officer would respond. If an announcement was made that "Lester Mainwaring and all members of his travel party" were to go to a specific location, it would mean to summon every police officer in the terminal to that location.
- In Fox's 2424 (TV series)24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
Jack Bauer uses the code "Flank Two" to mean that he is currently in custody and is being forced to relay false information back to the Counter Terrorist Unit.
Legal
- Many euphemisms for drug use and sexual acts exist, as they may be considered illegal or illicit in many situations.
- The term "code word" was used prominently in 1998 by Harvard Law professor Alan DershowitzAlan DershowitzAlan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee, opposing the impeachment of President Clinton. Rep. Bob BarrBob BarrRobert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. is a former federal prosecutorand a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of...
said, "Real America understands that the Constitution is there for a reason," to which Dershowitz responded, "Whenever I hear the words 'real Americans', that sounds to me like a code word for racism, a code word for bigotry, a code word for anti-Semitism."
Informal code words and propaganda
An informal code word is a term used without formal or prior agreement to communicate to a subset of listeners or readers predisposed to see its double meaning.Informal code words can find use in propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, distinct from use of euphemistic
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
code words to delay or avoid emotional responses in the audience. They may be intended to be construed as generalized platitudes by the majority of listeners, but as quite specific promises by those for whom the specific wording was crafted.
Examples
- Culture of lifeCulture of lifeThe phrase "culture of life" is a term used in discussion of moral theology, especially of the Catholic Church. Its proponents describe it as a way of life based upon the theological truth that human life at all stages from conception through natural death is sacred...
- Gender-neutral languageGender-neutral languageGender-neutral language, gender-inclusive language, inclusive language, or gender neutrality is linguistic prescriptivism that aims to eliminate reference to gender in terms that describe people...
- Hardworking familiesHardworking familiesThe phrase "Hardworking families" or "working families" is an example of a glittering generality in contemporary political discourse. It is used in the politics of the United Kingdom and of the United States, and was heavily used by the political parties in the campaign of the United Kingdom...
- Right to choosePro-choiceSupport for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
(pro-choice) - Right to lifeRight to lifeRight to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
(pro-lifePro-lifeOpposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
) - Working classWorking classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
See also
- ArgotArgotAn Argot is a secret language used by various groups—including, but not limited to, thieves and other criminals—to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. The term argot is also used to refer to the informal specialized vocabulary from a particular field of study, hobby, job,...
- EuphemismEuphemismA euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
- Dog-whistle politicsDog-whistle politicsDog-whistle politics, also known as the use of code words, is a type of political campaigning or speechmaking which employs coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience...
- DoublespeakDoublespeakDoublespeak is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms , making the truth less unpleasant, without denying its nature. It may also be deployed as intentional ambiguity, or reversal of meaning...
- Framing (social sciences)Framing (social sciences)A frame in social theory consists of a schema of interpretation — that is, a collection of anecdotes and stereotypes—that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. In simpler terms, people build a series of mental filters through biological and cultural influences. They use these...
- Glittering generalityGlittering generalityGlittering generalities are emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly-valued concepts and beliefs that they carry conviction without supporting information or reason. Such highly-valued concepts attract general approval and acclaim...
- Loaded languageLoaded languageIn rhetoric, loaded language is wording that attempts to influence the certain audience by using to emotion....
- Political correctnessPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
- Virtue wordVirtue wordA virtue word tends to invoke a positive image when placed in the appropriate context. This can be used for the purposes of positive commentary or description in marketing and propaganda....
External links
Usage examples:- Code Word: Containment "...the new code word for sanctions..." - Jeff Guntzel, 08/14/02
- Paul Martin's codeword for "who cares" (Canada) "Unacceptable is a word that Martin and his Liberal members use when they disapprove of something but have absolutely no intention of doing anything about it." - Arthur Weinreb, 04/08/05