In its opposite, the “euphemism treadmill” (a term coined by Steven Pinker, a professor at Harvard), people run from one polite banality to another.

By the time the Vietnam War came our way, we quickly came up with another euphemism, the "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution," based on dubious evidence of an attack on U.S. warships by North Vietnamese ...

Necessary Evil . From a Greek word meaning “to use words of good omen,” euphemism is the substitution of a pleasant term for a blunt one—telling it like it isn’t.

As Peter Capaldi departs “Doctor Who,” some hope his replacement will increase the show’s diversity. After “Wonder Woman” was released, some were disappointed that diverse Amazons didn ...

Euphemism is another tool you develop through years of practice. Our profession excels at euphemism. With the possible exception of dentists, 5 no one engages in "near-speak" as much as we do.

In recent years “lethal” has become a euphemism. It means a small force that is overly reliant on technology. Jim Mattis, President Trump’s first defense secretary, ...

See if you can spot which fanciful phrases for sex are real, and which we made up, in the quiz below. The further back in time one goes, the better the euphemism.In the 17th century, one might use ...

Euphemism is what straight news resorts to when circumstances require it to describe that which is demonstrably unacceptable. The need didn’t use to come up all that often.

A Euphemism for Marginalization. Terry Smith is a distinguished research professor at DePaul College of Law. He is the author of the forthcoming book “Barack Obama, Post-Racialism, ...