--- title: Soft words for hard things: money and poverty — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Soft words for hard things: money and poverty», a lesson of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Being poor can feel embarrassing, so people often talk about it with soft, roundabout words. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/) [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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/) / Soft words for hard things: money and… # Soft words for hard things: money and poverty Lesson 19 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school: 24 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/0/) — Being poor can feel embarrassing, so people often talk about it with soft, roundabout words. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/1/) — Old-fashioned speakers say "in reduced circumstances"; friends say "hard up" or "a bit short"; officials say "food insecure" or "receiving public assistance". - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/2/) — Some words are kind, like "less fortunate"; some are polite cover, like "careful with money" for someone stingy. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/3/) — For example, a man who says he is "temporarily embarrassed" at the till is joking that he has run out of money. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/4/) — "Fallen on hard times" means someone has become poor after being better off. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/5/) — "Of modest means" means poor or not rich. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/6/) — "In reduced circumstances" (old-fashioned UK) means poorer than before. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/7/) — "In straitened circumstances" (old-fashioned) means poor and short of money. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/8/) — "Hard up" (everyday, especially UK) means short of money. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/9/) — "Cash-strapped" means short of money, often said of councils, schools or families. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/10/) — "Temporarily embarrassed" is an old-fashioned joke meaning out of money for now. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/11/) — "A little short" means without enough money to pay. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/12/) — "Person experiencing homelessness" (official US) means a homeless person. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/13/) — "Rough sleeper" (official UK) means a homeless person who sleeps outside. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/14/) — "Food insecure" (official) means hungry and not able to afford enough food. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/15/) — "Receiving public assistance" (official US) means living on welfare: money the government gives to people who need help. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/16/) — "Budget-conscious" means poor or unwilling to spend. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/17/) — "Careful with money" is a kind way to say stingy (hating to spend or share money). - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/18/) — "Less fortunate" means poor. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/19/) — "Disadvantaged background" means someone grew up poor. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/20/) — "Deprived area" (official UK) means a poor neighbourhood. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/21/) — "Inner city" (especially US) is often used to mean a poor urban neighbourhood. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/22/) — "The wrong side of the tracks" (US) means the poor part of town. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/23/) — "On a fixed income" (US) means having little money, usually as a pensioner, an old person living on a pension (money paid after you stop work). - ← previous: [Soft words for hard things: animals and pets and money and poverty](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/18-pets-and-money/) - next →: [Soft words for hard things: money and poverty and work, firing and the economy](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/20-debt-and-jobs/) - ↑ back to [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/)