It Has To Be Said

I am VERY happy to present a guest post by Jags Arthurson. A reader and frequent commenter to this blog, Jags is a wonderful writer. I know you will love this post. His posts come to me clean and in no need of editing at all. Okay, I threw in about four commas. And he follows British English, which I of course left alone. Enjoy!

Jags Arthurson is the pen name of a Brighton, UK writer. Jags has been a research chemist and company director.  He has lived and worked in over 40 countries. His novel, the crime thriller Pagan Justice, is available on Amazon with all proceeds going to charity.

*********************************************

It has to be said …

Jags Arthurson

There are many times in our lives when we just have to say the unsayable. It may be that the subject will cause embarrassment or offence or just be too sensitive. Then we resort to euphemisms.

The Oxford English Dictionary gives us:

Euphemism /’ju:fǝmɪz(ǝ)m/

Noun

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Euphemisms allow us to create a ‘wall’ of acceptable words to hide ourselves from the harsh realities of the world. The English language is riddled with them. There’s even something in our own homes that does not have a real name … only euphemisms but more of that later.

One example of the regular use of euphemisms is when we speak of death. Fans of Monty Python will remember the list from The Dead Parrot: deceased, passed on, is no more, ceased to be, expired, gone to meet his maker, a stiff, bereft of life, rests in peace, pushing up the daisies, his metabolic processes are now history, hopped the twig, shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain, joined the choir invisible, snuffed it! Even in ancient Rome people would talk of acquiesco, repose.

In the UK people create a bucket list … all those things they wish to accomplish before they ‘kick the bucket,’ a phrase that reputedly arose from standing on an upturned bucket to commit suicide by hanging … kicking the bucket away to leave oneself dangling. 

If it’s not harshness, it may be embarrassment we’re trying to avoid. Look at all the phrases we have for the various sex acts and the parts of the body related thereto. Of course, we don’t have to use euphemisms for these because many years ago doctors gave us a complete vocabulary for the parts of the body and these became so acceptable that it is perfectly all right for me to use terms like penis and vagina in this post whereas some of the more ‘basic’ words would have the editor reaching for a blue pencil.

But here’s a thought: mankind has had language and sex organs for millennia before doctors or even the Latin language existed. Does anybody believe we did not have names for all the parts? Did doctors actually just create their own euphemisms?

Historically, euphemisms were often used to avoid saying something that would affect one’s fate or luck. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Speak of the Devil” but did you know that originally it was completed as “… and he will appear.”  And this was a genuine belief, so the superstitious created other names: Old Nick, The Fiend, and many others to avoid saying his name and bringing his curse down (or should that be up?) upon themselves.

Euphemisms have often been used quite cynically. For instance, newspaper gossip columnists, wishing to avoid being sued, created a whole lexicon that readers understood but which could never be proved to be libellous.  See if you can work out what these implied (answers at the end.)

1. To look prosperous
2. A confirmed bachelor
3. A bon viveur
4. A lady’s man
5. Fond of Wagner

And while we’re talking about newspapers, let’s not forget what I call ‘typographical euphemisms’ where unprintable words have vowels replaced with asterisks with the excuse that they cause less offence. But if you know the bl**dy word, are you not equally offended whether some of the letters have been obliterated or not?

Of course, words change and so do euphemisms. If they slip into common usage, they lose their power and take on the meaning of what they were intended to cover up.  Originally, “to swear an oath” had the meaning we still think of when we stand in court with one hand on our holy book and pledge to tell the truth.  But “to swear an oath” also started as a euphemism for “to use bad language” and this became enshrined in our language so that nowadays “to swear” means “to use bad language” and “an oath” is “an inappropriate word.”

Which is what happened in our homes. We have a facility for the disposal of bodily waste that has never had a ‘real’ name in English, but the euphemisms have become so embedded they have become the names. We have a whole gamut: The lavatory (from the Latin lavatorium, ‘a place for washing’) or toilet (from Old French toile, — a cloth — through various incarnations to ‘a place for washing.’)  In British English we have WC, short for ‘water closet.’  Americans often call it the bathroom (‘a place for washing’) but should be aware that if that’s what they ask for in England they may end up in a room with just a bath!  They should maybe use another euphemism: ‘the loo.’

In days before indoor plumbing people would use a chamber pot which, incidentally, may also euphemistically be called a ‘gazunder’ because it ‘gazunder’ the bed … geddit?  Every morning the ‘chamber maids’ would empty them – often from an upper window into the open sewer otherwise known as the street. To give passersby a sporting chance of avoiding the foul deluge they would call out a warning. Here was the perfect opportunity for another euphemism and they did not disappoint. They stole one from the French: Guardez l’eau … Beware of the water.  This contracted to ‘loo’ and is now the word used by the poshest in the land.

Are euphemisms a good thing?

On the whole, probably. They allow us to remove tension and embarrassment from what could otherwise be a fraught conversation. But there are times when they can get out of hand. Seedier journalists have frequently invented euphemisms to spice up otherwise mundane articles. One common in England for a time was ‘bonk’ as a racier version of ‘make love’ or ‘have sex’.  So popular did this euphemism become in the latter part of the last century that, for instance, novels with a high sexual content became known as ‘bonkbusters.’

Finally, my favourite euphemism is one that most people probably don’t even notice. We buy fire insurance to cover us in the event of a fire. We buy accident insurance to cover us in the event of an accident. So why do we buy life insurance?

Is it that potential customers might be deterred if offered death insurance?

Here are the answers to the euphemism quiz:

1. Fat
2. Gay
3. Alcoholic
4. Philanderer
5. Anti-Semitic