Yeah, definitions can often seem 'polite' compared to how a word or phrase may be understood colloquially. One example from many of a quick google re: 'call a...': "speak plainly without avoiding unpleasant issues". Which really has been my own personal experience with this particular phrase, but obviously not yours or others. Perceptions of meanings depend on different things, and often we aren't aware of what they even are. And sometimes our own perceptions of meanings change with time. Which is what I was getting at with that "a people sometimes divided by a common language" thought. Not sure a whole lot can be done about that, other than the type of thing that's been going on here. It's a very large and diverse country, after all. And as with other things, one size doesn't always fit all. But on a more positive note, we'd all probably be bored a lot more often if it did. ;-)
"'call a spade a spade' meant speaking frankly and honestly. "
I've never heard it used that way. Or maybe the definition is phrased that politely.
What I hear is this, "I'm going to say this and I don't give a Fk if you like it or not.
The modern equivalent "this may not be politically correct but..."
Yeah, definitions can often seem 'polite' compared to how a word or phrase may be understood colloquially. One example from many of a quick google re: 'call a...': "speak plainly without avoiding unpleasant issues". Which really has been my own personal experience with this particular phrase, but obviously not yours or others. Perceptions of meanings depend on different things, and often we aren't aware of what they even are. And sometimes our own perceptions of meanings change with time. Which is what I was getting at with that "a people sometimes divided by a common language" thought. Not sure a whole lot can be done about that, other than the type of thing that's been going on here. It's a very large and diverse country, after all. And as with other things, one size doesn't always fit all. But on a more positive note, we'd all probably be bored a lot more often if it did. ;-)
Your definition/usage is why I called it a fossil.
For most of the 20 century at least, it has been deeply tied to American racism even if certain individuals don't currently use it that way.