#euphemism

This was part of a reply, deep deep in a reblog chain, but I think I should post it separately.

I observe that the R-slur is going the same way that idiot, imbecile, and moron went: losing its edge by being overused and generalized so much that it weakens its association with the minority in question.

How many people today know that lame was a slur for the physically handicapped, and how many people today had to be told that bit of context from someone while reading, for example, Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss? How many people today know that dumb meant mute before it meant dumb?

Euphemism

(n.) a gentle or indirect word substituted in place of one considered too harsh, blunt, or uncomfortable for polite company

When Henry’s professor returned his thesis draft covered in red ink, she called it ‘a work still finding its voice,’ a euphemism generous enough to sting only upon reflection. 📝

The word traces to ancient Greek: euphēmismos, from eu (good, well) + phēmē (speech, utterance)—literally, “the use of good words.” The Greeks employed it originally in religious contexts, where speaking ill omens aloud was thought to invite them into being. To euphemize was, in a sense, to protect reality by curating the language around it.

Over centuries, the term expanded far beyond ritual. Today euphemisms guard us from death (“passed on”), failure (“didn’t meet expectations”), war (“collateral damage”), and poverty (“economically disadvantaged”)—proof that every era has its unbearable truths, and its preferred ways of not quite saying them.

Some euphemisms are acts of genuine kindness. Others are instruments of evasion. The difference, more often than not, lies entirely in who is speaking ... and what they stand to lose by telling the truth plainly.