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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.
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.
Also apophthegm. A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism. aposiopesis A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished. apostrophe A figure of speech in which a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes ...
Euphemism Send one to Eternity or to the Promised Land To kill someone Literary: Go/send to Belize To die/to kill somebody Euphemism From Season 5 of the television series Breaking Bad: Send (or go) to the farm To die Euphemism Usually referring to the death of a pet, especially if the owners are parents of young children e.g.
An example of this is the United States Department of Defense, which won the award three times, in 1991, 1993, and 2001. For the 1991 award, the United States Department of Defense "swept the first six places in the Doublespeak top ten" [ 26 ] for using euphemisms like "servicing the target" (bombing) and "force packages" (warplanes).
Circumlocution is often used by people with aphasia and people learning a new language, where simple terms can be paraphrased to aid learning or communication (for example, paraphrasing the word "grandfather" as "the father of one's father"). Among other usages, circumlocution can be used to construct euphemisms, innuendos, and equivocations.
Euphemus was a son of Poseidon, [5] granted by his father the power to walk on water. [6] His mother is variously named: (1) Europe, daughter of the giant Tityos; [7] (2) Doris (Oris), [8] (3) Mecionice, [9] daughter of either Eurotas or Orion [8] or (4) lastly, Macionassa. [10]
An 1857 version of the idiom is "It would freeze the tail off a brass monkey", and probably refers to a common type of tourist souvenir. [42] Rule of thumb is not derived from a medieval constraint on the thickness of an object with which one might beat one's wife. [43] [44] More likely it means that the thumb can be used to measure an ...