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A euphemism (/ ˈ juː f ə m ɪ z əm / YOO-fə-miz-əm) is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. [1] Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes to downplay.
Euphemisms should generally be avoided in favor of more neutral and precise terms. Died and had sex are neutral and accurate; passed away and made love are euphemisms. Some words and phrases that are proper in many contexts also have euphemistic senses that should be avoided: civilian casualties should not be masked as collateral damage.
Caesar shift: moving all the letters in a word or sentence some fixed number of positions down the alphabet; Techniques that involve semantics and the choosing of words. Anglish: a writing using exclusively words of Germanic origin; Auto-antonym: a word that contains opposite meanings; Autogram: a sentence that provide an inventory of its own ...
A euphemism is a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsher, blunter, or more offensive term.. It may also substitute a description of something or someone to avoid revealing secret, holy, or sacred names to the uninitiated, or to obscure the identity of the subject of a conversation from potential eavesdroppers.
The term four-letter word serves as a euphemism for words that are often considered profane or offensive.. The designation "four-letter" arises from the observation that many (though not all) popular or slang terms related to excretory functions, sexual activity, genitalia, blasphemies, and terms linked to Hell or damnation are incidentally four-character monosyllables.
In the Codex Alera series, by Jim Butcher, most obscenities are replaced with a variation of the word crow, e.g. crows or crowbegotten. Terry Pratchett uses minced oaths for comic effect, for example in Mort: "A wizard. I hate ----ing wizards." "Well, you shouldn't ---- them then," replied the second, effortlessly pronouncing a row of dashes.
a thief in darkness, a glorious statement and its strong foundation. The thieving stranger was not a whit more wise that he swallowed those words. A moth ate words. I thought that was a marvelous fate, that the worm, a thief in the dark, should eat a man's words — a brilliant statement, its foundation strong.
It is used as a euphemism or circumlocution meaning a lie, an untruth, or a substantially correct but technically inaccurate statement. Churchill first used the phrase following the 1906 election . Speaking in the House of Commons on 22 February 1906 as Under-Secretary of the Colonial Office , he had occasion to repeat what he had said during ...