Haute and vulgar

[Perry Lassiter]

A just read a book review intended to sell a new book about the Jerusalem temple. The writer used an unusually clashing oxymoron intending in the context to be complimentary. He said the book was "haute vulgarization." Literally that would mean "high common." Our normal use of common is to refer to something as low class, not haute or high. Except in high school latin we discover "vulgar latin," which means the common tongue, or what we today call street language. So today's author meant the writer had done a fine job of translating a technical discussion into an easily understood book. Still, the juxtaposition of haute and vulgarizing left me wondering whether the reviewer was throwing a left-handed compliment.

[Slava]

Definitely does seem a rather complicated way of saying something simple.