--- title: Euphemisms — a course of Mova's primary school, with trees and pragmatics description: The soft words English uses for hard things: death, illness, the toilet, the body, age, weight, pregnancy and birth — said politely, officially, as a joke and as slang. The course teaches Mova that what is said is not always what is meant. 42 lessons, 969 sentences with trees and pragmatics. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / Euphemisms # Euphemisms The soft words English uses for hard things: death, illness, the toilet, the body, age, weight, pregnancy and birth — said politely, officially, as a joke and as slang. The course teaches Mova that what is said is not always what is meant. The euphemisms course of Mova's primary school: 42 lessons, 969 sentences, each sentence with its syntax tree and pragmatics. Licence: [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) (Mova corpus 0.4). - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/) — Soft words for hard things: death and dying — 25 sentences · A euphemism is a soft or roundabout word we use instead of a plain word that feels too hard, rude or sad. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/2-death-official-and-slang/) — Soft words for hard things: death and dying — 24 sentences · Not every euphemism for death is meant to be kind; some are meant to hide or to sound tough. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/3-death-and-feeling-poorly/) — Soft words for hard things: death and dying, illness and the body — 21 sentences · Euphemisms for death have many jobs: they comfort a family, honour soldiers, sell funerals and make dark jok… - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/4-illness-disability-and-babies/) — Soft words for hard things: illness, disability and the body — 24 sentences · People use euphemisms about the body and illness to be polite, to protect someone's feelings, or because a s… - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/5-drink-mind-and-body/) — Soft words for hard things: illness, disability and the body — 23 sentences · Some illnesses used to be a secret or a shame, so people invented soft words to talk about them quietly: dri… - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/) — Soft words for hard things: the toilet and bodily functions — 22 sentences · Almost every language has soft words for the toilet, because people feel shy about saying what they are goin… - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/7-wind-sick-and-runs/) — Soft words for hard things: the toilet and bodily functions — 22 sentences · Our bodies do messy things: they make gas, sweat, get stuck, run, throw up, and every month many women have… - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/8-toilets-and-getting-older/) — Soft words for hard things: the toilet and bodily functions and age and looks — 23 sentences · This lesson finishes the toilet words and starts the words for getting old. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/9-age-looks-and-size/) — Soft words for hard things: age and looks and weight — 23 sentences · People are sensitive about how they look: wrinkles, baldness, being short or not pretty, or getting forgetfu… - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/10-weight-and-babies/) — Soft words for hard things: weight and pregnancy and birth — 24 sentences · Talking about someone's weight can hurt, so people reach for softer words than "fat". - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/11-pregnancy-and-birth/) — Soft words for hard things: pregnancy and birth — 23 sentences · Grown-ups often talk about babies coming in soft, roundabout words instead of plain ones. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/12-birth-and-couples/) — Soft words for hard things: pregnancy and birth and relations and family — 21 sentences · Families use soft words for things people feel shy or sad about: a hurried wedding, where babies come from,… - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/) — Soft words for hard things: relations and family — 20 sentences · Families are complicated, and people use soft words so they do not have to explain quarrels, divorces or who… - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/14-family-and-behaviour/) — Soft words for hard things: relations and family and children's behaviour — 21 sentences · Parents and carers use soft words about children's bad behaviour so they do not sound cross or shame the chi… - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/15-behaviour-and-school-reports/) — Soft words for hard things: children's behaviour and school reports and teachers — 21 sentences · Parents and teachers often describe a child's problems in kind, positive-sounding words so the child and fam… - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/16-school-reports/) — Soft words for hard things: school reports and teachers — 22 sentences · Teachers write reports that parents read, so they choose kind, careful words instead of blunt ones. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/17-school-and-pets/) — Soft words for hard things: school reports and teachers and animals and pets — 24 sentences · Schools soften bad news about trouble and failure, and families soften bad news about pets. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/18-pets-and-money/) — Soft words for hard things: animals and pets and money and poverty — 24 sentences · People use soft words for things about animals they find unpleasant: toilets, killing and giving pets away. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/) — Soft words for hard things: money and poverty — 24 sentences · Being poor can feel embarrassing, so people often talk about it with soft, roundabout words. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/20-debt-and-jobs/) — Soft words for hard things: money and poverty and work, firing and the economy — 24 sentences · Banks and companies use dry, technical words so that debt and job losses sound like ordinary paperwork. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/21-work-firing-and-the-economy/) — Soft words for hard things: work, firing and the economy — 22 sentences · Losing a job is painful and frightening, so bosses, newspapers and governments reach for soft words when the… - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/22-jobs-shops-and-estate-agents/) — Soft words for hard things: work, firing and the economy and business and advertising — 24 sentences · Job titles and adverts are full of soft words, because people want their work to sound grand and sellers wan… - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/23-fees-bugs-and-spin/) — Soft words for hard things: business and advertising and politics and government spin — 22 sentences · Companies hide extra costs, broken products and bad results behind soft words; politicians hide taxes and un… - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/24-government-spin/) — Soft words for hard things: politics and government spin — 24 sentences · Governments must explain hard choices, such as cuts, wars and camps, to the people, and soft words make thos… - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/25-spin-war-and-violence/) — Soft words for hard things: politics and government spin and war, the military and violence — 25 sentences · War and violence are the hardest things of all to talk about, so governments, armies and criminals give them… - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/) — Soft words for hard things: war, the military and violence — 24 sentences · War means killing and destruction, and the people who start or run wars often do not want to say that plainly. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/27-crime-prison-and-police/) — Soft words for hard things: crime, prison and the police — 23 sentences · Prison, crime and police violence are hard things, so people find softer words for them. - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/) — Soft words for hard things: crime, prison and the police and lying and honesty — 24 sentences · Stealing, killing and lying are things people are ashamed of, so they hide them behind softer words. - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/29-lying-and-drinking/) — Soft words for hard things: lying and honesty and drinking and drugs — 24 sentences · Calling someone a liar or a drunk is rude, so people reach for softer words. - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/30-drinking-and-drugs/) — Soft words for hard things: drinking and drugs — 22 sentences · Drinking too much alcohol and taking drugs can harm people, and talking about it plainly can feel embarrassi… - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/31-drinking-drugs-religion-fate/) — Soft words for hard things: drinking and drugs and religion and fate — 25 sentences · People often feel awkward talking about drinking too much alcohol or taking drugs, so they use soft or funny… - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/32-religion-fate-failure/) — Soft words for hard things: religion and fate and failure and mistakes — 22 sentences · Many everyday phrases soften the word God, such as "goodness knows" or "for heaven's sake"; they are polite… - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/33-failure-and-mistakes/) — Soft words for hard things: failure and mistakes — 23 sentences · Nobody likes to say "we failed" or "I made a mistake", so people reach for softer words: a company whose new… - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/34-failure-and-mistakes/) — Soft words for hard things: failure and mistakes — 23 sentences · Saying "no" or "you got it wrong" can hurt, so people dress failure up in softer clothes: a letter that says… - [35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/35-mistakes-and-stupidity/) — Soft words for hard things: failure and mistakes and stupidity and madness — 21 sentences · Others shift the blame: when a helpdesk says "user error", it means the machine is fine and the person using… - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/36-dim-and-round-the-bend/) — Soft words for hard things: stupidity and madness — 22 sentences · Calling someone stupid or mad to their face is rude and hurts, so people wrap the idea in softer or funnier… - [37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/37-bats-and-gosh/) — Soft words for hard things: stupidity and madness and rudeness and swearing — 24 sentences · The listener has to finish the picture: if a part is missing, the person's mind is missing a part too. - [38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/38-drat-and-the-f-word/) — Soft words for hard things: rudeness and swearing — 22 sentences · When people stub a toe or drop a plate, a swear word wants to jump out. - [39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/39-pardon-my-french/) — Soft words for hard things: rudeness and swearing — 26 sentences · Newspapers, teachers and polite grown-ups often have to report swearing without repeating it. - [40](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/40-with-all-due-respect/) — Soft words for hard things: rudeness and swearing — 26 sentences · Grown-ups often say rude things in very polite clothes, and the polite words are a warning sign. - [41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/41-olympiad-euphemism-detective/) — Olympiad: the euphemism detective ★★★ — 22 sentences · In an olympiad puzzle about soft words you are a detective: first turn every soft phrase into plain words, t… - [42](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/42-olympiad-reading-between-the-lines/) — Olympiad: reading between the lines ★★★ — 24 sentences · Olympiad texts pack many soft words into one passage: a house advert, a school report, a news story or a dea… - ← previous: [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/) - next →: [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/) - ↑ back to [the school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/)