Calling a spade something else

Saying things in alternative ways (including euphemisms), and examining the ways of using them.

WHAT’S in a name? That which we call a rose / by any other name would smell as sweet” (Shake­speare: Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene II). How true, but names and words do have an effect on the hearer’s perception. I am reminded that in Japan, where soft drinks are routinely sold from vending machines, there used to be a drink with the English brand-name Sweat. Such a name would surely put a non-local off soft drinks for a while.