Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
Sam Corbin, a words and language writer for The New York Times, comparing the ADS WOTY with the likes from prominent dictionaries, wrote that "the American Dialect Society celebrates linguistic variation to an almost absurd degree". [1] Starting with about 30 society members in early years, as of 2023 the vote drew some 300 participants.
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.
Euphemism [17] Lay waste To kill slang Lights out To die Slang Going into Eternal Oblivion: Liquidation To be killed Euphemism Usually used in political context (such as purges), implies dehumanization. Live on a farm (upstate) To die Euphemism Usually referring to the death of a pet, especially if the owners are parents with children, i.e.
A euphemism for dying or death: put a spoke in one's wheel To disrupt, foil, or cause problems to one's plan, activity, or project. [68] put on airs: An English language idiom and a colloquial phrase meant to describe a person who acts superior, or one who behaves as if they are more important than others. [69] put the cat among the pigeons
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, etc.). [1] [2] In the distinction between literal and figurative language, figures of
However, in British English, the word "fag" can be an inoffensive term used to refer to a cigarette, or, previously, a junior boy who serves a senior boy in a British public school. [7] Likewise, the word "fanny" when used in American English is a euphemism for one's buttocks, so benign that children use it.
Pussy (/ ˈ p ʊ s i /) is an English noun, adjective, and—in rare instances—verb. It has several meanings, as slang, as euphemism, and as vulgarity. Most commonly, it is used as a noun with the meaning "cat", "coward", or "weakling". In slang, it can mean "vulva," or "vagina" and less commonly, by synecdoche, "sexual intercourse with a ...