| 词组 | condition |
| 释义 | condition Copperud 1970 states that his earlier ( 1964) characterization of condition used in heart condition as a "faceless euphemism for ailment, disease" is a common criticism in newspaper circles. The criticism may be widespread, but this use of condition is not usually a euphemism. Condition has been used euphemistically in such time-honored combinations as in an interesting (or delicate or certain) condition to avoid pregnant (Nickles 1974 lists these and so does the OED Supplement). It can also refer to pregnancy without euphemism: • Unwilling to face the stigma attached to unwed mothers in her own country or to reveal her condition to her elderly parents, Olga Scarpetta left Colombia and came to New York ... to have her child in secrecy —Eileen Hughes, Ladies' Home Jour., September 1971 Condition in the sense Copperud objects to is, as Harper 1985 remarks, "hardly a precise term." Its very imprecision is its chief virtue, for it is often used when the precise ailment is unknown or not understood. As a generalized term, its usefulness can be seen in these examples: • One of the major factors in his reversal of fortune was a series of physical ailments, the worst of which was a painful chest condition that beset him in 1962. The condition, apparently caused by a muscle spasm or pinched nerve, evaded specific medical diagnosis —Current Biography, April 1966 • ... in treating Paget's disease, which is a condition characterized by excessive bone formation —Annual Report, Pfizer, 1970 • My husband is impotent. What can be done about it? A. That depends on what the problem really is ... there are a few specific physical conditions that can cause this difficulty —Dodi Shultz, Ladies' Home Jour., August 1971 If newspaper editors want to fret over this use of condition, let them. You needn't worry about it at all. |
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