Let me say at the outset, I like euphemisms. I find that many of them are clever and amusing.Why do we use them though ? Is it out of politeness, to cover embarrassment or to invoke a chuckle ? I find that the English language with it's wide range of expressions and nuances lends itself very well to this verbal gymnastic. In the main, euphemisms are used for lavatorial , sexual purposes or descriptions of body parts and seem to be favoured by Brits more than other nationalities who tend to have traditional sayings,bon mots or allegories rather than euphemism. For instance, instead of saying " I keep my money under the mattress " the Spanish say " I hide my money under the tile " but I don't think one could count this as a euphemism. Some while ago,I was dining with a cultured and refined Spanish lady.I was rather taken aback when ,instead of saying " I'm just going to powder my nose " (possibly the best-known of all euphemisms ) she announced " I need to go for a piss " A Clear example of someone telling it how it is , invoking a modicum of admiration for straight talking.
Some expressions are fairly obvious but I like the funny and convoluted ones.
"Horizontal exercise" is pretty self -explanatory but would someone pick up on " Shall we play PC Plod hides his helmet " ?
During a barren sexual spell a friend of mine when needing to go to the toilet said " Excuse me, I'm off to shake hands with the unemployed " which I thought was amusing and self-deprecating ( which is another personality trait I admire )
I would love to hear your experiences of phrases which you have used or have been addressed to you and the circumstances in which they were delivered.
I will close now as I am feeling the need to go and " Sit on the doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse " or to" renew acquaintance with Messrs. Armitage and Shanks " ( you will note that I have side-stepped that old chestnut of "Pointing Percy at the porcelain "
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5:10 am Tuesday, 17th May, 2016
Chrissy. Your reference to Tricky Dicky Nixon stirred up memories for me. We had a TV interviewer called David Frost ( now sadly deceased ) who absolutely crucified him during questioning about Watergate. It was classic TV event..There was also a comedian who asserted that Nixon was going to be circumcised adding " Is there no end to this Dick ? " xxx |
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2:17 pm Tuesday, 17th May, 2016
Fetch, you always make me learned. To be honest euphemisms are a difficult thing to be understood in many languages. It is actually very interesting to get literal translations of some phrases and honestly, they are just blunt, direct and they don't conceal anything...lol
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I'm afaid I'm often unable to read messages sent to me or reply to them so please catch me in the chat rooms .Thanks .Now on with my flight of fancy !
