Euphemism

The substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that

may offend or suggest something unpleasant

How and Why We Use Euphemisms

Euphemisms can take different forms, but they all involve substituting a
word or phrase considered to be less offensive than another. The
substituted word might, for example, be viewed as a less coarse choice,
as when dang or darn is used instead of damn or damned. Or it might
replace a word viewed as insulting to a religious figure, such as the
various euphemisms for God (gad, gadzooks, gosh)
or Jesus (gee, jeepers, jeez). A euphemism may also consist of an indirect
softening phrase that is substituted for the straightforward naming of
something unpalatable. Thus, we hear of people being “let go” rather
than “fired”; civilians killed in war described as “collateral damage”; or
someone who has died having “kicked the bucket,” “passed away, “given
up the ghost,” or “joined one’s ancestors.”

Euphemisms for people

 He’s big boned. — He’s fat.
 She’s horizontally challenged.* — She’s fat, too.
 He’s vertically challenged.* — He’s short.
 She’s between jobs. — She’s unemployed.
 She’s getting on. — She’s old.
 He’s not the sharpest pencil in the box. — He’s kind of stupid. Not his fault —
he just is.
 He doesn’t suffer fools gladly. — He’s rude and can be pretty unkind.

Euphemisms about getting fired

The following all mean “You’re fired” or “You’ve lost your job..”
 We’re going to have to let you go.
 Have you considered early retirement? — only for older people
 I’m afraid you’ve been made redundant. — This one isn’t as bad, as it means
your job doesn’t exist anymore. You’ve probably been replaced by a computer.

Euphemisms about WAR!

It’s a horrible and traumatic thing, and very difficult to talk about.

It’s also a deeply political thing, too.

I think those are the two main reasons we have so many euphemisms for war. People
don’t like talking about the difficult reality, but also governments prefer to use
“softer” words to make their decisions sound less violent.

If you read any English language newspaper and turn to an article about war, you’ll
find some of these military euphemisms:

 Collateral damage – When an attack kills innocent people (or damages homes,
hospitals, schools, etc.).
 Armed intervention – This simply means “military attack.”
 Extraordinary rendition – This is when an army takes someone away without
going through any legal system.
 Friendly fire – This is when an army kills people on its own side, usually by
accident.

Euphemisms for “bad”

It’s good to have lots of different ways of saying “bad,” right?

For example, there are some adjectives that make “bad” even more direct, like
“awful,” “terrible,” “horrible,” etc.

But what if you want to make it more polite and less direct?

 It wasn’t up to scratch. — It wasn’t good enough.

 It left a lot to be desired. — It was pretty bad and unsatisfying.
 That was a questionable idea. — There are problems with this idea.
 How was the trip? It was … Meh — How was the trip? It wasn’t that good at all.
Not terrible but not good.