NICE WORDS FOR NASTY THINGS.
In the days of Queen Elizabeth there were in England certain writers
who were called "Euphuists." They got this name from the title of a
book, "Euphues," written by one of them, John Lyly. The chief
characteristic of the writings of these Euphuists was the grandiose
way in which they wrote of the simplest things. Their writings were
full of metaphors and figures of speech. The first Euphuists were
looked upon as "refiners of speech," and Queen Elizabeth and the
ladies at her court did their best to speak as much in the manner of
Euphues as they could.
But all men at all times are unconscious Euphuists, in so far as they
try to say ugly and unpleasant things in a way which will make them
sound pleasant. This tendency in speech is called "euphemism," a word
which is made from two Greek words meaning "to speak well." It is a
true description of what the word means if by "well" we understand "as
pleasantly as possible." The word _euphemeîte_, "speak fair," was
used as a warning to worshippers in Greek temples, in the belief that
the speaking of an unfortunate word might bring disaster instead of
blessing from the sacrifice.
Every day, and often in a day, we use euphemisms. How often do we hear
people say, "if anything should happen to him," meaning "if he died;"
and on tombstones the plain fact of a person's death is nearly always
stated in phrases such as "he passed away," "fell asleep," or
"departed this life." People often refer to a dead person as the
"deceased" or the "departed," or as the "_late_ so-and-so." The fact
is that, death being to most people the unpleasantest thing in the
world, there is a general tendency to mention it as little as
possible, and, when the subject cannot be avoided, to use vague and
less realistic phrases than the words _death_, _dead_, or _die_.
One reason for this avoidance of an unpleasant subject is the
superstitious feeling that mentioning a thing will bring it to pass.
Or, again, if a misfortune has happened, many people feel that it only
makes it worse to talk about it. While everybody avoids speaking on
the subject, we can half pretend to ourselves that it is not true.
We might imagine that this kind of "refinement of speech" (which when
carried to excess really becomes vulgar) was the result of modern
people being so "nervous." But this is not the case. Complete savages
have the same custom. If civilized people have a superstitious feeling
that to mention a misfortune may bring it to pass, savages firmly
believe that this is the case. Not only will they not mention the
subject of death in plain words, but some will not even mention the
name of a dead person or give that name to a new-born child, so that
in some tribes names die out in this way. Many civilized people have
this same idea that it is unlucky for a new-born child to be called by
the name of a brother or sister who has already died.
The subject of death has gathered more euphemisms around it than
almost any other. Some of them are ugly and almost vulgar, while
others, from the way in which they have been used, are almost
poetical. To speak of the "casualties" in a battle, meaning the number
of killed and wounded men, seems almost heartless; but to say a man
"fell in battle," though it means the same thing, is almost poetical,
because it suggests an idea of courage and sacrifice. The expression,
"Roll of Honour," is a euphemism, but poetical. It suggests the one
consoling thought which relieves the horror of the bald expression,
"list of casualties."
Another cause of the use of euphemisms, besides the superstitious fear
of bringing misfortune by mentioning it too plainly, is the fear of
being vulgar or indecent. Through this feeling words which are quite
proper at one time pass out of use among refined people. English
people do not freely use the word "stomach" in conversation, and are
often a little shocked when they hear French people describing their
ailments in this region of the body. In the same way, names of
articles of underclothing pass out of use. The old word for the
garment which is now generally called a "chemise" was _smock_; but
this in time became tinged with vulgarity, and the word _shift_ was
used. This in its turn fell out of use among refined people, who began
to use the French word _chemise_. Even this, and the word _drawers_,
which was also once a most refined expression, are falling into
disuse, and people talk vaguely of "underlinen" in speaking of these
garments. The shops which are always refined to the verge of vulgarity
only allow themselves to use the French word _lingerie_.
Again, the faults of our friends and acquaintances, and even the
graver offences of criminals, are matters with which we tend to deal
lightly. Such offences have gathered a whole throng of euphemisms
about them. When we do not like to say boldly that a person is a liar,
we say the same thing by means of the euphemism a "stranger to the
truth." Other lighter ways of saying that a person is lying is to say
that he is "romancing," or "drawing the long bow," or "drawing on the
imagination," or "telling a fairy tale." A thief will be described as
a "defaulter," and we may say of a man who has stolen his employer's
money as it passed through his hands that he is "short in his
accounts."
Especially among the poorer or less respectable people, to whom the
idea of crime becomes familiar, the use of slang euphemisms on this
subject grows up. A person for whom the police are searching is
"wanted." A man who is hanged "swings." These expressions may seem
very dreadful to more refined people, but their use really comes from
the same desire to be indulgent which leads more educated people to
use euphemisms to cover up as far as possible the faults of their
friends.
Again, misfortunes which come not from outside happenings but from
some defect in a person's mind and body are often the subject of
euphemisms. In Scotland a person who is quite an imbecile will be
described as an "innocent"--a milder way of saying the same thing.
_Insane_ and _crazy_ were originally euphemisms for _mad_, but now
have come to be equally unpleasant descriptions. So for _drunken_ the
euphemism _intemperate_ came to be used, but is now hardly a more
polite description. We would not willingly speak of a person being
"fat" in his presence. If it is necessary to touch on the subject, the
word "stout" is more favoured. In the absence of the fat person the
humorous euphemism may be used by which he or she is said to "have a
good deal of _embonpoint_."
Many words are euphemisms in themselves, just as many words are
complete metaphors in themselves. The word _ill_ means literally
"uncomfortable," but has come to have a much more serious meaning.
_Disease_ means literally "not being at ease," but the sense in which
we use it describes something much more serious than the literal
meaning. The word _ruin_ is literally merely a "falling."
One result of words being used euphemistically is that they often
cease to have their milder original meaning, and cease therefore to
seem euphemistic at all. _Vile_, which now means everything that is
bad, is in its literal and earlier use merely "cheap." _Base_, which
has the meaning of unutterable meanness, is literally merely "low."
_Mercenary_ is not exactly a complimentary description now. It means
that a person thinks far too much of money, but originally it merely
meant "serving for pay," a thing which most men are obliged to do.
_Transgression_ is generally used now to describe some rather serious
offence, but it literally means only a "stepping across." The "step"
which it describes being, however, in the wrong direction, the word
has come to have a more and more serious meaning. The study of
euphemisms can teach us much about men's thoughts and manners in the
past and the present.