ABSTRACT
Many working-class people wished to keep clear of those who were 'common'. Phrases such as 'the common touch' and, even more surely, 'the light of common day' belong to an altogether more assured and kindlier world of discourse. Still, resolutely respectable working-class people were well practised in multiple evasion-by-euphemism as they avoided vulgar speech. 'Chamber-pot' could cause slight embarrassment and led to what-the-hell vulgarisms on the left hand, such as 'piss-pot', and foggier and foggier euphemisms on the right. 'In the pudding club' was downright vulgar, slightly below but metaphorically related to having something in the oven. Straightforwardly blunt, direct speaking as distinct from the truly vulgar varies from the long-recalled folksy to the often muckily urban. The languages of vulgarity and especially the languages of sex are changing. At our most sensible many of us do not feel the need for so many euphemisms as we traditionally have had.
