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A euphemism is a nice word for a nasty thing. Or sometimes it's code for something we want to keep, but don't want to acknowledge. Sometimes again it's the language of the dominant group which wants to keep us in our place.
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Here are the latest additions:
chaos = 48 hours of disruption New ash cloud chaos for Australia Australia's two major airports face up to 48 hours of disruption as the ash cloud from a Chilean volcano hits again. bbc online It's a bit like when an airport gets snowed in and nothing moves, so they call it chaos. Actually, it's order, just not the order people want if they are trying to get home :) "nobody is keeping us informed" = no one is telling us what we want to hear @hypercube
cleanse, detox = go on a crash diet
dashing, debonair = good-looking man
dream (wedding, home) = vulgar, ostentatious
emotional intelligence = Machiavellian manipulation, or what the Victorians called “character”. “Emotional Intelligence is a useful resource that helps develop networks, figure out hierarchy, and influence others.” BPS Research Digest//The trick is to use your emotional intelligence to recognise how you are feeling and how it impacts your work persona. EI is the ability to “motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations, to control impulse and delay gratification, to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think, to empathise and to hope,’ as defined by Daniel Goleman, the author of EI, Why It Can Matter More than IQ.
female companionship = sex
hard landscaping = paving over
clear skin products = skin lightening products
intelligent working = hot desking
intriguing, baffling, compelling, colourful = charlatan Carl Gustav Jung
work ethic = willingness to be exploited migrant workers have a “work ethic”, ie they work long hours for less than the minimum wages, no insurance/pension/holidays/benefits
waspishly impatient, easily bored = bastard. Times obituary, June 30, 2011
cuts)severe weather, hard winter = cold, rain, snow, hail
So when it's government intervention conservatives hate, it's 'nanny state'. When it's dictating morality, 'decency'. Just so we know. @gaipajama
statement necklaces = big necklaces
vibrant (when used to mean lots of non-English people). Independent banned list
outspoken = criticising the government
speak out But “speakers out” are always on our
side: The Archbishop has every right to speak out (Times) (against
health and welfare cuts)
You’re overqualified. = You’re too posh.
We think you’ll be bored. = We think you’ll look down on us.
challenging = terrifying
concordant patient = compliant patient
creative industry = advertising
creatives = people who work in advertising
difficult/strong character = bully
embayment (of Norfolk coast) = flooding
emotive, emotional = emotions that lead people to do or think the wrong things
establish clear boundaries = establish clear boundaries for acceptable behaviour, ie tell people they can’t go on being nasty to you
exercise poor judgement/make bad choices = American for “go off the rails”, drink, take drugs, get pregnant at 14
forceful style, feisty = abusive, angry outbursts
language = swearing, obscenity (a film may be flagged “contains mild language”, ie mild swearing)
lash out = meek, mild person loses it after putting up with years of bullying. They then become the problem.
learning differences = learning difficulties
micromanage = boss
other cultures = right-wingers such as the CSU’s Horst Seehofer want to stop all immigration from “other cultures” (code for Turks and Arabs)
regret = cancel (There can be no substitutions for guests who regret.)
revisit = reconsider (we shall revisit that decision)
save the planet = save humanity
security firm = bodyguards and spies
stand by (your husband) = put up with his infidelities
strong language = swearing, obscenity
teem/teemed with = abounded in people we don’t wish to mix with
variety meats = offal (sweetbreads = testicles, pig’s fry = testicles)
views are becoming polarised = people are going to start being rude to each other if they haven't already
We landscaped the garden completely = we removed all the plants and trees and replaced them with paving, gravel, paths and steps
You're taking this much too seriously = You've taken what I said to its logical conclusion and made me look absurd/I am losing the argument.
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Euphemisms II
