what's the inverse of a dog-whistle?

[kaigou]

Okay, so a "dog-whistle" is the expression for intentional use of a seemingly innocuous word or phrase, that has a double (usually negative/reversed) meaning for a segment of the audience. Is there a word for the unintentional use of a word or phrase that has loaded meaning for a segment of the audience, of which the speaker/writer is unaware?

Frex, if I say, "his economic ideas are a fast track to a green and pleasant land," the use of green and pleasant land is a dog-whistle, to, uhm, anyone who knows their Blake, I guess. (It's an epithet for England.) To the broader audience it sounds positive; to a smaller, in-the-know audience, the combination of "economic" + "england" = "socialism" -- which in the US is currently a Very Dirty Word. It's a way to appear positive (or at least harmless) while signaling a different meaning to a limited part of the audience. [See comments below for alternate/better take on this phrase.]

But what if a segment of the population finds the phrase, hrm, "shades of gray" to be loaded with historical and cultural negativity? If I unintentionally (ignorantly) use this expression such that I create a dual-meaning statement -- one that's positive to the broader audience but potentially negative to a smaller segment, what would this be?

I'm thinking perhaps "land mine".

Granted, if I know of the negative secondary connotations, then I suppose it might be a dog-whistle, but I don't think that really fits -- that expression is most often used to signal to like-minded folks, to draw them closer, like calling in the pack. It's not the same thing when the purpose is to alienate members of the audience. Then it's more like one of those truck deer-whistles that's supposed to warn deer to stay away.

Any ideas? Or is there an existing catchphrase for an reversed dog-whistle? Does that catchphrase imply knowledge even if the speaker denies such (deer-whistle), or does it presume ignorance (land mine)?

Comments

[arkessian.livejournal.com]

Totally off the point but green and pleasant land doesn't signify England to me (I am a mixture of English and Welsh, still and always residing in the UK). It signifies a particular middle-class rose-tinted view of England... And not the Socialist aspects of it either.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

"Land mine" works well enough.

Like George W. Bush making that speech in which he proposed a crusade against terrorism, on September 12th or 13th of 2001. (Sorry George, but that "C" word is likely to be understood in a very specific way by muslims, whether you intended it or not ...)

This icon has really been getting a workout lately

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

If ignorance is inherent in the definition, I prefer land-mine. For instance, textual evidence suggests that the author of that horrible novel I read the other day intended readers to get warm and fuzzy feelings every time Mammy Ida was mentioned, not to think "WTF Mammy??!"

[okaasan59.livejournal.com]

Your post made me think of a sound bite from earlier this week, wherein a commentator was praising the Obamas for their showing of public affection for one another, including "fisting."

Clip is here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neCIg0BiXbE&eurl=http://lj-toys.com/?journalid=7065679&moduleid=12&preview=&auth_token=sessionless:1233338400:embedcontent:7065679%2612%26:f6a239c8ccd700c22da4a7148466f6adb2e972a9)

Since the person who said the word obviously didn't know the sexually explicit meaning, it made me start wondering just what percentage of the populations does know.

And this had nothing to do with your question but my mind works in convoluted ways. ^__^

[tiercel]

In an only peripherally related way, I once knew someone who couldn't see CBT (computer-based training) without thinking of cock-and-ball torture. She spent a lot of time at work giggling under her breath.

There's also the example of the glass-blowing guy at the RenFaire who told us that the hole in the furnace that you stick the glass to heat it is the "glory hole," and if he knew what it meant he certainly didn't let on.

To be on-topic, I've never heard the term "dog-whistle" but I have seen "land mine" used as a metaphor in that way, so I think it's a term where people will probably understand what you mean.

You know what else this discussion reminds me of? That incident with Southwest Airlines and the women who got mad because of the flight attendant using "eeny meeny miney moe" as a joke to get them into their seats - and I learned for the first time that the original rhyme didn't end with "catch a tiger by its toe." It's something that I honestly had no idea had racial implications.