I was amused by the recent Space X launch, not because I like seeing spaceships explode, but because the company clearly doesn’t like talking about its own failings. The launch on 27 May 2025 resulted in a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly.’ It was not an explosion, failure or crash. That would have been really bad...
It is tempting to poke fun at the choice of euphemism here, but we are all guilty of using them from time to time. Euphemisms offer a mild way to discuss sensitive subjects that might otherwise make the speaker seem blunt or rude. They are ‘anti-hyperbole’ or ‘de-exaggeration.’
This is no clearer than when talking about taboo subjects, particularly death. Saying that someone ‘passed away’ is more palatable than plainly stating that they died. Other options include them being ‘no longer with us,’ ‘departed’ or ‘gone to a better place,’ like they are just taking a holiday. A recent addition to this collection is ‘unalived,’ typically used in internet forums where the ‘deceased’ (dead person) ‘met their maker’ (died) through ‘unnatural causes’ (accident, suicide or murder).
The military has a particular penchant for euphemisms, which make discussing their activities less unpleasant. Phrases that have entered the public consciousness include ‘collateral damage’ (dead civilians), ‘enhanced interrogation’ (torture) and ‘targets’ (enemies) being ‘taken out’ or ‘neutralised’ (killed). A recent addition is ‘special military operation’ (double-speak for war).
A close second on the list of subjects people speak euphemistically about is ‘making the beast with two backs.’ If you’re not a Shakespeare fan, this phrase was first recorded as a euphemism for sexual intercourse in Othello in 1604. Other common options - with varying levels of vulgarity - include ‘doing it,’ ‘making love,’ ‘sleeping with,’ and ‘getting laid.’ Victorians enjoyed ‘horizontal refreshment,’ while more modern audiences might ‘Netflix and chill.’
In the world of work, companies and employees alike use euphemisms to change perceptions. It may sound better to call the sales team the ‘client liaison department’ instead, because managers think it sounds more professional. A manager might excitedly launch the new role of ‘lavatory sanitation technicians’ to replace lowly toilet cleaners. On this subject, I recently witnessed an ‘automated sanitary technician’ (cleaning robot) at London Heathrow Airport. It kept loudly stating that it was carrying out an ‘intelligent inspection operation.’ I think this means that it was looking for things to clean up... really badly. I’d say - euphemistically - that it ‘might be better suited to other tasks.’
Euphemisms also come in handy when employers want to deliver bad news. A company that ‘is forced to’ (decides to) ‘downsize’ (sack lots of people), will cause them to be ‘between jobs’ (unemployed), while they ‘consider their options’ (apply desperately for alternative employment). In other situations, employers might even ‘encourage’ (force) ‘under-performing’ (useless) staff to ‘take a step back’ (resign) before they are ‘let go’ (fired). Others might leave because they are found guilty of ‘terminological inexactitude,’ a phrase first used in 1906 by Winston Churchill in Parliament to circumvent the UK’s law against accusing other MPs of ‘bending the truth’ (lying).
We can also use euphemisms to reduce the potential for offence. An individual - or the person talking about them - might prefer the expression ‘vertically challenged’ rather than short, ‘rotund’ rather than fat, or ‘follicly challenged’ rather than bald.
Ultimately, euphemisms can help people open up about areas that may otherwise be difficult to discuss. This can be helpful in some areas, including mental health. A ‘dark time,’ as code for a crisis or breakdown can help the sufferer open up and seek help. However, euphemisms can also numb us to subjects that we should take more seriously. ‘Climate change’ is a phrase that has become so well established, that it has lost much of its meaning. Maybe we need a new phrase. ‘Biosphere destruction,’ ‘global meltdown’ or ‘catastrophic planetary heating’ all seem a lot harder to ‘turn a blind eye to’ (ignore).
