when it concerns one’s own families and friends. It has a lot of expressions[16]. For example, if anything should happen to me (= when I die); to pass away/ on; to depart; to go to sleep; to be no longer with us; to be interred. “Death” also has some humorous expressions: “to pop off; to push up daisies; to cash in one’s chips; to kick the bucket ”. “Death” also has an intimate relationship with religion. There are many euphemisms from Bible, for example, to return to dust/ earth; to pay the debt of nature; to be called to God/ to answer the final summons; to go to heaven; to be at peace, to be asleep in the Arms of God; to yield up the ghost; to launch into eternity; to have one’s name inscribed in the Book of life etc. Some words,
which concern “death”, also have euphemistic expressions. For example, “coffin” is called “casket”; “dead body” is called “earthly remains”; “funeral” is called “memorial service”; “graveyard” is called “memory garden”.
3.1.3. The euphemisms for illness, natural and man-made calamities
Most westerners avoid talking about some serious diseases. For instance, “terminally ill” is a euphemism for “cancer”; American and British newspapers often name “syphilis” as “social disease”; “leprosy” is called “Hansen’s disease”; “constipation” is called “irregularity”. “tumour” is called “a growth”; “commit suicide” is called “self-deliverance or self-violence”. People often use initialing to avoid talk about some diseases directly, such as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome); Big C (Cancer); VD (Venereal Disease) etc. “to die because of a crash” is called “old Newton took him”; “hara-kiri” is called “happy dispatch”; “an unnatural death” is called “to be blown across the creek”
3.1.4. The euphemisms for sex
Nearly all languages consider “sex” a taboo word. In the west, when children asked their parents where they came from, their parents often answered the baby was a visit from the stork. People can say “pregnant” instead of “expecting” or “in the family way”; “fart” is also written into the dictionary. You can say it directly instead of saying, “wind from behind” It is just because of the movement of “sex liberty” and “sex liberation”. People can have a freer talk about “sex” than Victorian age. On the contrary, some other new euphemisms for sex appeared one after another. “Sexual knowledge” is called “facts of life”; “pornographic movies” is called “adult films”; “cohabitation” has become very common in western society. It is also called a kind of marriage: “trial marriage” or “unmarried wife”. Nevertheless, with the sharp increase of the rate of divorce, there appeared many euphemisms for divorce: “to break up”, “to split up, and “matchruptcy” (a blending of “match” and “bankruptcy”). And the homosexuality would be called “Greek arts”, “queer”, “gay”. There is another interesting phrase “to go to Reno”. “Reno”, a small city in the west of Nevada, is famous for its easy and fast procedures of divorce. So “to go to Reno” also becomes a euphemism for divorce.
3.1.5. The euphemisms for birth
Contrary to the Chinese traditional opinion, in western countries, “being pregnant” and “having a baby” are not considered “a blessed event”. Australian English even call it “a blasted event”. In America, “to wear the apron high”, “to wear/have the belly high” are euphemisms for “to be pregnant”, while in Britain, “to wear the bustle wrong” is a euphemism for “to be pregnant”. In 19th century, a slim waist is the ideal figure for British women. Therefore, “to be pregnant” is also called “to be awkward”, “in a bad way/shape”; “to make a woman pregnant” is called “to spoil/ruin a woman’s shape”. Some one even called “to be pregnant” “to be caught” or “to be fallen”. Some vague expressions also show a kind of restless mood, such as: that way, in a certain/particular/delicate condition etc. The use of humor is another feature of euphemism for “being pregnant”. American people are likely to say “to have a watermelon on the vine”, or “to swallow a watermelon seed”. British people are likely to say “to have a bun in the oven” or “to have an Irish toothache” (to make fun of Irish people who are pregnant as commonly as having a toothache).
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