--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a grosser irony about Politically…" description: "\"There's a grosser irony about Politically Correct English. This is that PCE purports to be the dialect of progressive reform but is in fact - in its Or..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/david-foster-wallace-161_dialect_there-s-a-grosser-irony-about-politicall_328532.jpg" --- # There's a grosser irony about Politically Correct English… ![“There's a grosser irony about Politically Correct English. This is that PCE purports to be the dialect of progressive reform but is in fact - in its Orwellian substitution of the euphemisms of social equality for social equality itself - of vastly more help to conservatives and the US status quo…” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/david-foster-wallace-161_dialect_there-s-a-grosser-irony-about-politicall_328532.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/david-foster-wallace-161_dialect_there-s-a-grosser-irony-about-politicall_328532.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/david-foster-wallace-161_dialect_there-s-a-grosser-irony-about-politicall_328532.jpg) > “There's a grosser irony about Politically Correct English. This is that PCE purports to be the dialect of progressive reform but is in fact - in its Orwellian substitution of the euphemisms of social equality for social equality itself - of vastly more help to conservatives and the US status quo than traditional SNOOT prescriptions ever were.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how politically correct language, while claiming progressive intent, actually preserves existing power structures by masking true issues with euphemisms. **In simple terms:** PC language pretends to be progressive but often sustains the status quo. Key Takeaway Beware of language that obscures real problems. Themes political correctness language power social critique Mood skeptical critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - education - policy debates Key Concepts Orwellian euphemism ideological masking Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape power dynamics? - Can reformist language ever be truly neutral? A Different Perspective The argument may overlook genuine efforts to make language inclusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dialect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialect/) [Euphemism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/euphemism/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Orwellian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orwellian/) [Political correctness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-correctness/) [Politically correct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politically-correct/) [Reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-equality/) [Status quo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/status-quo/) ## Related quotes > [“There's a grosser irony about Politically Correct English. This is that PCE purports to be the dialect of progressive reform but is in fact--in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-s-a-grosser-irony-about-politically-correct-english-this-is-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I am influenced more than ever before by the conviction that social equality is the only basis of human happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/i-am-influenced-more-than-ever-before-by-the-conviction-that-social/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“I am a convinced advocate of economic and social equality because I know that, without it, liberty, justice, human dignity, morality, and the well-being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/i-am-a-convinced-advocate-of-economic-and-social-equality-because-i/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Incidentally, the next time some war-mongering wise-ass tries to tell you that one reason we're in the Middle East is to enhance the civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/incidentally-the-next-time-some-war-mongering-wise-ass-tries-to-tell/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [For the record, feminism by definition is: 'The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/for-the-record-feminism-by-definition-is-the-belief-that-men-and/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [ Our vulnerability \[to ressentiment\] is unavoidable (and probably incurable) in a kind of society in which relative equality of political and other rights and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/our-vulnerability-to-ressentiment-is-unavoidable-and-probably/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [The form of government and the condition of society must always correspond. Social equality is therefore a postulate of pure democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-form-of-government-and-the-condition-of-society-must-always/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [“Feminist efforts to grant women social equality with men of their class neatly coincided with white supremacist capitalist patriarchal fears that white power would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/feminist-efforts-to-grant-women-social-equality-with-men-of-their/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Anarchists are extreme libertarian socialists , "libertarian" meaning the demand for freedom from prohibition, and "socialist" meaning the demand for social equality . ...Complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rooum/anarchists-are-extreme-libertarian-socialists-libertarian-meaning-the/) Donald Rooum > [The concepts of social equality and social justice are not always the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/the-concepts-of-social-equality-and-social-justice-are-not-always-the/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [I just don't feel that we've traveled very far in the realm of social equality. There just seems to be a little bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-paulson/i-just-don-t-feel-that-we-ve-traveled-very-far-in-the-realm-of-social/) [Sarah Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-paulson/) > [“Historically, American liberals have been idealists, pressing forward toward the goals of greater freedom, social equality, and more meaningful democracy. The articulate exposition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/historically-american-liberals-have-been-idealists-pressing-forward/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [The wisest among my race understand that agitations of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all privileges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-wisest-among-my-race-understand-that-agitations-of-social/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [If you're talking about intellectual and social equality for women, we're not much better off.America is still very much a male-dominated society. Most American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/if-you-re-talking-about-intellectual-and-social-equality-for-women-we/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [Free milk will be provided in Hoxton and Shoredith, in Eton and Harrow. What more social equality can you have than that?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-wilkinson/free-milk-will-be-provided-in-hoxton-and-shoredith-in-eton-and-harrow/) [Ellen Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-wilkinson/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. 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Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. 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