>>>>>It's probably historical: some languages got used to hidden sense and implicit talk. I am not a linguistic expert, so I could be wrong, but it might be that Russian language is the most double-speak phenomenon in this area.
>>>>
>>>>What about (ouch, forgot the exact name) of the language in "1984"? I read it recently in English.
>>>
>>>Isn't it "Newspeak"?
>>>
>>>That expression is hijacked today "Oh, downsizing is newspeak for 'laying people off'"
>>>
>>>Just as in "1984" they had "Minitrue" (the Ministry of Truth - in effect lies) nowadays we have the MetPol for London's Metropolitan Police.
>>>
>>>Incidentally, recently on a BBC telethon day, the woman who's presented the Big Brother reality show in UK since its start was asked, in a quiz, "Who is the leader of Oceania?" ... and she had no idea.
>>>
>>>Similarly many people bandy about the expression "Catch-22" without ever having read the book or really knowing what one is. That annoys me.
>>
>>I was watching a dvd of one of the old episodes of a show we had here (don't know if it was ever in England), called "Remington Steele", and in the episode, he was using a fake identity, and introduced himself to one person as "Milo Minderbinder".
>
>Wasn't that the show where Piers Brosman first shot to fame?

That's the one. But I think, without checking, that it's Brosnan.

>I once had a military-style jacket and put "Capt. Washington Irving" (Yossarian's mail censoring persona, you may recall) in the name slot. Some guy in a pub asked me what position I played in the team!

I thought you'd have used "Major Major Major". Too blatant?