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euphemism english

Fun piece in the Economist's Johnson column on the British love of euphemism and the wide gap between what we say in certain situations and what we mean. As one commenter perceptively points out, euphemism is all about avoiding feelings of shame within a social context. The article suggests that in our use of English, the British have a particular penchant for euphemism, but are we really any better or worse than other languages and cultures?