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Thu 12 Oct, 2006 05:54 am
I was just thinking how certain euphemisms annoy me, as they avoid the real point and distract from its meaning by making the phrase palatable.
First examples:
"Passed on/away" - you mean died, so why not say it?
"Downsizing" - redundancies in the workforce.
Which euphemisms annoy you?
Are there some which you consider useful because the underlying message is too harsh to handle - if so, why?
Hey, K.P. marking until I can come up with a dozen or so. I agree with you on the "passed away" euphemism.
Tired and Emotional for drunk/drugged!
x
pleasingly plump-fat
vertically challenged-short
mature-old
chef-cook.
I think "passed away" is okay, and the euphemism is usually used with kindly intent, esp. when talking with the bereaved.
I heard in last week's The Sopranos that Vito was going to get whacked, because he was going up the Hershey Highway.
Where is the line drawn between euphemisms and being PC?
For instance, when at the office, or other public place, I'll always say "I have to go to the restroom" rather than "I gotta go pee."
Euphemisms for the sake of being polite are fine, it's when you're hiding what you really want to say, it's annoying, and for me that turns it into being PC.
OH....here's one I really like, sorry I know it's for ones we don't like, but....
"I was financially embarrassed."
Living in Texas (or in the South in general) I feel like I'm living in Euphimism Central. It can be quite charming, or infuriating.
I don't mind passed away so much but I can't stand it when people say "lost" for "dead".
These two might not really count but I hate "homeland" for the United States and "troop" for soldier. I'm not sure why "homeland" gives me such shivers but every time I hear it I get a weird feeling. As for "troop", I know it is a long established word for soldier but to me it feels very impersonal -- like it's easier to forget you're talking about a real flesh and bone person.
Only the Americans could make a singular soldier from "troops".
The Universal Troop? Don't think so.
Yes, I dislike twee references to "the bathroom" or "the restroom" when something other is meant. When they're not going for a bath or a rest, I mean.
Well, yes, there is that, Phoenix. It does have a Nazi ring to it.
For the longest time I thought "troop" was some kind of unit of soldiers: soldier is to troop as company is to batallion - that sort of thing. When I learned that troop is used to mean soldier, that troop is not a plural word, is when it started bothering me.
MuckT wrote
Quote:Yes, I dislike twee references to "the bathroom" or "the restroom" when something other is meant. When they're not going for a bath or a rest, I mean.
Oh me too!
I just call it The Bog - but then I'm a lady...
x
Quote:For the longest time I thought "troop" was some kind of unit of soldiers: soldier is to troop as company is to batallion - that sort of thing. When I learned that troop is used to mean soldier, that troop is not a plural word, is when it started bothering me.
An unfortunate number of hawks and doves share this confusion.
In general, I don't mind softening reality but I get angry when people try to obscure reality.
It might of interest (or it might not >shrug<) that within my young widowed support group, euphemisms suchs as "passed" and "lost" are almost universally loathed.
We also talk about deathdays, the opposite of birthdays, but the non-widowed often cringe from that one.
How about "interrogate" as a substitute for "torture." Bush said that if congress didn't pass the bill the government couldn't interrogate terrorists, and that CIA operatives could be presecuted for "interrogating" terrorists in the past. It's interesting that Bush considers asking questions or interrogating to have been illegal. Notice also that "suspected terrorist" is now simply a "terrorist." If they are arrested they must be guilty.
coluber2001 wrote:How about "interrogate" as a substitute for "torture." Bush said that if congress didn't pass the bill the government couldn't interrogate terrorists, and that CIA operatives could be presecuted for "interrogating" terrorists in the past. It's interesting that Bush considers asking questions or interrogating to have been illegal. Notice also that "suspected terrorist" is now simply a "terrorist." If they are arrested they must be guilty.
I heard on a BBC programme about Guantanamo that the US definition of torture at one point only covered actions which resulted in major organ failure or threat of death.
So thumbscrews and "the rack" could be used without constituting torture.
Very good that Bush has been forced to acknowledge that the Geneva conventions apply to these "enemy combatants".
Enough on that - not on the Politics forum, are we?
KP
boomerang wrote:For the longest time I thought "troop" was some kind of unit of soldiers: soldier is to troop as company is to batallion - that sort of thing. When I learned that troop is used to mean soldier, that troop is not a plural word, is when it started bothering me.
'Troop', in the sense of a single soldier, isn't actually a euphemism: it's soldier slang. It's just short for 'trooper' which is a perfectly legitimate word. When I was in the army, we used it half-jocularly.
BTW, KP, thnx for posting the link to this thread on the 'oet peeves' thread. I probably wouldn't have run across it otherwise except by accident.
I've uh, got to return some videotapes... = stop asking me out already
come on ladies, I'm not stupid, I know you don't still use VHS.
Well, then what the hell was F Troop?
Quote:"Passed on/away" - you mean died, so why not say it?
This was the first thing in my head, as soon as I saw the thread title. In the very rare instance when I care about someone's fragile sensibilities, though, I'll use it.
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