NationStates Jolt Archive

What's your opinion on euphemisms (ie saying "crap" for "shit", "darn" for "damn", "heck" for "hell", etc.)? Poll coming.

Personally, I hate the things. They make you sound obsequious and timid. But I'm not the only person in the world (surprise, surprise!), so...vote away!

The implication of the semi-curseword makes it as susceptible to condemnation as the real thing.

Gotta love those Secret Stash commercials on Comedy Central...

"You have such a huge clock!"
"Yeah, that is a huge clock!"
"Oh my God, there's clock all over the place!"

Hah..the first other.

So, I take it you refuse to say anything other than "f(a)eces", NR?

Me, I don't mind them, but they get annoying. Seriously, man, not so bad to say "crap", and others, imo. I've heard some stupid ones, over the years.

Gotta love those Secret Stash commercials on Comedy Central...

"You have such a huge clock!"
"Yeah, that is a huge clock!"
"Oh my God, there's clock all over the place!"
haha, stupid clock

Hah..the first other.

So, I take it you refuse to say anything other than "f(a)eces", NR?

Me, I don't mind them, but they get annoying. Seriously, man, not so bad to say "crap", imo. I've heard some stupid ones, over the years.



I'm not one to curse at all.


Ephesians 4:29 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

I do not have any problem with the euphemisms that you have mentioned. It is only substituting one word for a similar word that means almost exactly the same thing just less offensive.

The euphemisms I hate are the ones that try to dance around the entire issue. Such as the ones that try to hide truths. In certain situations dysphemisms are actually so much fun, it is nice to say that a dead thing/person is "worm food" rather than saying "they have gone to a better place".

I'm not one to curse at all.


Ephesians 4:29 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.So when something goes wrong and you feel really mad...what do you say? (Please cite chapter, verse, and line. :p)

So when something goes wrong and you feel really mad...what do you say? (Please cite chapter, verse, and line. :p)




My favorite line from the Hobbit "Confusticate and bebother!"

"Confusticate and bebother!"
:(

*sniff*

*throws a shoe at you*

No swearing!

My favorite line from the Hobbit "Confusticate and bebother!"LMAO....you just had to prove me wrong didn't you? :D


(j/k)

LMAO....you just had to prove me wrong didn't you? :D


(j/k)

Not that hard to do, Czardas. *grins*

I have a foul mouth.
There I admitted it. I swear often, even though I don't think too highly of the habit...
In my defense, I try not to use the really horrible words around old people or children.
I chose "other", because I kinda use euphemisms. I use unconventional swears, rather. "Take off" is my equivalent of "go fuck yourself", but it sounds so much nicer, don't you think?
I also swear in foreign languages. I swore constantly when I was in Spain, but in English, so it didn't count. Then in France, I swore in Spanish, because lots of French people know how to swear in English. Now, I get to use all the swears I picked up in those countries. yay

Not that hard to do, Czardas. *grins*You wish. :D

The euphemisms I hate are the ones that try to dance around the entire issue. Such as the ones that try to hide truths. In certain situations dysphemisms are actually so much fun, it is nice to say that a dead thing/person is "worm food" rather than saying "they have gone to a better place".

Agreed.
I don’t swear, and I use the euphemisms quite frequently. The only time I use actual “curse words” are in writing dialogue, to establish a character. When a soldier for hire gets pinned down by suppressive fire, he isn’t going to say, “Jolly gee willikers.”

I think euphemisms are useful when around children or when expressing less extreme emotions. (If I'm only mildly frustrated, I might well say "darn," "nuts," or even "aw, poop." This is not likely to happen if I've just slammed my hand in a car door or something, though. :p ) Overused euphemisms can become stupid - anyone who says "Gosh darn it to heck" is going to sound ridiculous.

Personally, I'm always amused by the more general kind of euphemism. Whenever someone says, "I'm going to go visit the restroom," I tend to answer, "Oh, tell it I said hello!" (The whole series of euphemisms bathrooms have gone through over the years is an amusing etymological story in its own right. From "toilet" (original meaning = "dressing/make-up room") to "powder room" to "restroom" to "washroom" to "water closet" to "bathroom," not a one of them references the actual purpose of the room. I'd realy love it if someday people started calling it a "defecation chamber" or something, if only for honesty's sake! :D )

Euphemisms are great! I like being subtle and humorous with my words.

Here's some of my favorites:

"Horizontal refreshments." (Sex.)

"Maritime bombing." (Taking a sh*t.)

Im sure thy are great!

Ephesians 4:29 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

but what the fuck have the ephesians ever done for us?

but what the fuck have the ephesians ever done for us?Nothing, Neo-R just likes quoting scripture whenever she gets the chance. Apparently she swears by it (pun intended).

A good euphemism is a wonderful thing, over the years I come up with a few nice ones of which I can recall none at the moment. As for simply substituing a less offensive word for another, more offensive word, I can take it or leave it; from your examples, crap is a word which means the same as shit, not really a euphamism so much as a different word (less offensive?) for the same thing, one could likewise use feces (defecate in the verb form) or several other words.

A good euphamism should make clear what is being talked about while not saying the word directly, it is merely a social convience to avoid offending people by using words that are socially acceptable. As an example, I am pretty sure this forum does not permit me to use the word niger, so I can use the euphemism "the country to the south of Algeria" (or "the country to the west of Chad" if you prefer, I've heard both) to get the word across, without offending anyone's sensabilities.

I am in mind of Monty Python's famous (Not The Noel Coward) Song:

Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis?
Isn't it frightfully good to have a dong?
It's swell to have a stiffy,
It's divine to own a dick.
From the tiniest little tadger
To the world's biggest prick!
So three cheers for your willy or John Thomas.
Hooray for your one-eyed trousers snake.
Your piece of pork, your wife's best friend,
Your Percy or your cock.
You can wrap it up in ribbons,
You can slip it in your sock.
Don't take it out in public,
Or they will put you in the dock ...
And you won't
come
back.

crap is a word which means the same as shit, not really a euphamism so much as a different word (less offensive?) for the same thing, one could likewise use feces (defecate in the verb form) or several other words.

and the reason shit is a profanity while feces and defecate aren't is entirely to do with the fact that the upper class in england spoke french and latin while the vulgar commoners spoke, well, english.

"Oh, there you go bringing class into it again..."

But I'm not the only person in the world (surprise, surprise!), so...vote away!

Yes Czardas, maybe one day you'll learn that fact properly

*pats him on the head patronisingly*

*laughs*

Heck, cussing without frigging swearing makes no gosh-darn sense. Fuck that shit! :D

I came up with a new one. A seventh man is someone who's raising some other guy's child without knowing it.

Usually, I don't mind euphemisms, as long as I know that the person using them actually knows the real words.
The only things really annoying me is the euphemism treadmill, because it just fucks things up horribly producing nonsense words :rolleyes:

Anyways, I usually go for the offensive stuff, either in German, English, French or Spanish. Because there's nothing like the startled look on someones face when you call 'em 'hijo de puta' instead of 'Wichser'. :D

Such as the ones that try to hide truths. In certain situations dysphemisms are actually so much fun, it is nice to say that a dead thing/person is "worm food" rather than saying "they have gone to a better place".
Wouldn't be saying "worm food" instead of "dead" an euphemism somehow? "Worm food" has not as bad a connotation as "dead".

Wouldn't be saying "worm food" instead of "dead" an euphemism somehow? "Worm food" has not as bad a connotation as "dead".

!

Only, surely, to those of an extreme utilitarian bent. I can't see "He fed the worms so that others might live" catching on. Or even "Worm-Food On Arrival".

Wouldn't be saying "worm food" instead of "dead" an euphemism somehow? "Worm food" has not as bad a connotation as "dead".

No, it is very disrespectful to the dead. Worm food is in a way mocking death as it sort of shows a dark sense of humor because instead of saying a person died or using a euphemism it says that he is going to be eaten by worms which is a negative thing to say about a dead body. Worm food is a dysphemism, it is not trying to hide a harsh reality and actually serves to bring up the harsh reality of bodily decay in corpses.