Monday 30 July 2012

Euphemisms

area bombing, dehousing = bombing civilians

arrogant = disagrees with me.

biased = biased in the wrong direction.

bishops = Church of England bishops

called upstairs (has recently been called upstairs) = died

character = if a place has character, or still has character, or you wouldn’t want it to lose its character, character means evidence of working class or ethnic life

character = integrity and a sense of duty, according to the Wikepedia entry on Cyril Connolly and prep schools

colourful past, well-known Soho character = criminal, gangster, Mr Big

hysteria about climate change = people saying man caused climate change

idyllic = like “tranquil”, it means far from crowds

key worker = public sector worker

lapsed Catholic = implies that you can't quit the Catholic church

poor impulse control = drinks, smokes, eats fattening food, beats wife, sleeps around (impulse = impulse to do the wrong thing.)

restructuring = firing staff

role model = attempt to mould next generation into useful citizens

social capital = network of powerful friends

social skills = social conventions

talky = of films, means “there’s some dialogue”.

the weather is settling down = we’re getting some sun

volatility = prices may suddenly shoot up, stock market may fluctuate wildly

worthy = dull, preachy, left-wing



More euphemisms here, here, and here. Also here, here, here, here, here and here.

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