euphemism

Tagged Discussions

Someone died. How do you phrase that?

Fleur @Fleura (34962) • United Kingdom 13 Jan 21

Death is an inevitable part of life, but nevertheless for a long time people seem to have shied away from actually saying the words ‘they died’. All kinds of euphemisms have been used such as ‘went to Heaven’, ‘passed away’...

13 responses •

13 people

Fashionably Late

Arthur Chappell @arthurchappell (44941) • Preston, England 3 Apr 17

As a punctuality obsessive, I hate the phrase ‘fashionably late.’ It just means late! It can even be a euphemism for habitually late, with the expectation that we should just take it a read that someone won’t be turning up on...

15 responses •

15 people

The birds and the bees

Fleur @Fleura (34962) • United Kingdom 28 Oct 15

As a child just starting secondary school I was quite quiet and shy and didn’t really know anyone so I was an obvious target to pick on. Sometimes the older or more popular kids would try to catch me out by asking me things they...

10 responses •

10 people

"When you Gotta Go ..."

Just an Ordinary Owl? @owlwings (43897) • Cambridge, England 4 Oct 15

... which door do you choose? Toilets, bathroom, WC, restroom, conveniences, heads, jakes, cloakroom (and many others) may be your first indication of where you need to head but when you get there, there may be one, two or even...

15 responses •

13 people

I call a spade "A spade" and I was frowned at..

arlerambabu @arlerambabu (1079) • India 12 Jan 07

Calling a spade as a spade will not work. The straight forwardness should be mellowed and softened.Euphemisms are to be used.Instead of saying Mahatma Gandhi died,decency calls for a mellowed word,"Mahatma Gandhi passed away"....

1 response

Why did we go to war with Iraq?

baileym11 @baileym11 (887) • United States 27 Oct 06

I think we needed a scapegoat, someone to blame for the twin towers attack. When we couldn't find Bin Laden, Bush still needed to look like he was doing something... so, hence, Operation Iraqi freedom or whatever euphemism he is...