'She was happy to hear that there would be no lay offs at her company.'
A euphemism is a word or phrase that we use instead of a more direct, unpleasant word. Euphemisms are used when we talk about difficult subject matters like death, for example.
It is sometimes too direct to say 'My grandmother died.' It is much gentler to say 'My grandmother passed away.' 'Pass away' is therefore a euphemism for 'die'.
Euphemisms are commonly used in newspapers and TV news.
Here we take a look at some other examples of useful euphemisms:
Meaning: to be unemployed. Basically, it means that someone does not have a job and is not a student either.
'Where do I work? Actually, I'm between jobs at the moment'
Meaning: the dead; dead people.
'In Japan the departed are cremated and not buried'.
Meaning: not to tell the truth; to be a liar.
'The politician had been economical with the truth when he talked about his earnings.'
Meaning: becoming old
'Now that I'm getting on, I don't like my birthdays.'
Meaning: to have sex
'The president admitted to having an intimate relationship with his secretary.'
Meaning: to make redundant;to fire;to sack
This expression is both a verb and a noun. It is used when someone loses their job; they are made to stop working by the company.
'Softec plans to lay off 200 workers.'
'Many lay offs are expected as the company sees profits fall.'
Meaning: to kill
This verb is usually used to describe killings in a war.
'The army neutralised 150 enemy fighters.'
Meaning: the elderly; old people
'Senior citizens suffer the most during winter.'
Meaning: stupid people
'Frank can be a bit slow at times. He has trouble following his teachers lessons.'
