MODERN American speech, while not always clear or correct or turned with much style, is supposed to be uncommonly frank. Witness the current explosion of four-letter words and the explicit discussion ...

“Where is the euphemism?” A college friend used to ask this question to point out the silliness of calling a toilet a bathroom. Euphemism in ordinary speech may be amusing, stilted, or polite, but in ...

Historically, euphemism has been correlated to fear or superstition. For example, often times we hear death referred to as passing away; while death is inevitable, avoiding direct reference to it both ...

From "passed away" to "Chilean sea bass," euphemisms are a way to avoid unpleasant terms or phrases. But in Euphemania, Ralph Keyes argues that using them isn't necessarily lazy or evasive; it can ...

This week’s column deals with a three-part query sent in by a reader: Sir, the title of your column last week was Eve-teasing is a euphemism used only in India (Dec 8). Is it correct to use the ...

Thanks to marketing, we now express ourselves with euphemisms: words or expressions that are substituted in order to make a blunt or unpleasant truth seem less harsh. Putting a good spin on things, ...