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Euphanisms

(81 Posts)
BlueBelle Tue 06-Mar-18 08:44:45

This should probably go in the Are you being unreasonable column but as I know I am I have no need to ask that question, and of course it’s each to his own but....
I hate euphuism I have just read of a friend whose friend has switched of the light and reached to the other side I read of fur babies ( blooming fur babies they re dogs and cats) running over the rainbow bridge
Am I alone in hating floweryness.?

BlueBelle Tue 06-Mar-18 16:59:04

Oh blimey this was meant to be a bit light hearted wish I d kept my big mouth shut
I m not walking around with a placard placating everyone who uses a euphanisn and I ve never ever commented to a person using one
Old meg I m very sorry you see my remarks as censoring our language, blimey some of things people shout about on here and I start a fairly innocuous thread and i m a real baddy well you have rested your case very nicell so you can stop ‘spitting out your dummy’ have a cup of ‘Rosie Lee’ and forget I spoke ?
And I m quite light thanks Mawboon if I get any lighter I ll be floating over the stars with the unicorns ?

lemongrove Tue 06-Mar-18 16:47:33

In the accident book? ??

MissAdventure Tue 06-Mar-18 16:43:48

grin well, since we're getting a bit more risque, I can't stand adults calling 'things' a willy.
When at work, I even saw someone had written down that so-and-so had a sore willy.

lemongrove Tue 06-Mar-18 16:20:28

Women use to ‘fall’ pregnant didn’t they? ?
The little girls/boys room is an annoying one to me ( I said this to DH once and he said “would you rather they said I’m off for a widdle?”)Actually, I would!

lemongrove Tue 06-Mar-18 16:17:52

Nobody is telling anyone what they should or should not say, this is just a discussion about euphemisms that may ( or may not) grate or annoy.

humptydumpty Tue 06-Mar-18 15:49:16

The rainbow bridge is where all beloved pets go when they die. That story by Saki sounds heartrending,I prefer the rainbow bridge.

grandtanteJE65 Tue 06-Mar-18 14:47:17

I've always thought the saddest short story in the English language is Saki's tale of the dogs waiting outside the gates of Heaven for their masters to come, as they won't go in without them.

grandtanteJE65 Tue 06-Mar-18 14:43:27

With the exception of euphemisms for death, which are, as you say, probably a way of dealing with loss, there are a number of annoying phrases out there.

As a child I was annoyed by all the "cute" phrases people employed instead of simply saying either that they needed to go to the toilet, or asking to be excused.

My father as a young GP was caught out by the expression "I fell wrong" - the patient was conveying the information that she had missed a period and was leading up to the fact that she thought she was pregnant. So there were two very confused people in that consulting room when my father started talking about twisted or sprained ankles!

Plain English would have avoided embarrassment in that case.

OldMeg Tue 06-Mar-18 14:12:57

CUSTOMER: He’s not pinin’! He’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! He’s expired and gone to meet his maker! He’s a stiff! Bereft of life, he rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed him to the perch he’d be pushing up the daisies!
His metabolic processes are now history! He’s off the twig!
He’s kicked the bucket, he’s shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisible!!
(“Dead Parrot Sketch” from Monty Python)

I rest my case ?

MawBroon Tue 06-Mar-18 14:10:55

Spelling “about” correctly too grin !

MawBroon Tue 06-Mar-18 14:10:15

I think there are far worse things to worry abou, for instance like spelling euphemism correctly, not euphanism or euphuism grin
Lighten up BlueBelle smile

OldMeg Tue 06-Mar-18 14:09:19

It’s where good doggies go when they die. Sort of a doggy heaven where they await being reunited with their owners.

Perhaps northern doggies go somewhere else likely Ilkly Moor bar t’at?

Grandma70s Tue 06-Mar-18 14:06:04

I live in the north and I hear plenty of people using euphemisms, though I don’t myself. My husband and my parents have died, nothing else. I didn’t use euphemisms about death when talking to my children, either. It can be confusing for children.

I suppose we almost all do to some extent when talking about bodily functions.

Please, what is the ‘Rainbow bridge’? I’ve never heard that one.

OldMeg Tue 06-Mar-18 14:04:39

I really object very strongly to being told I shouldn’t use our language in its fullness. It’s a form of censorship. If I think it’s appropriate to say someone has ‘passed away’ rather than ‘died’ then that is my judgement call.

If a friend who had no family chooses to talk about her ‘fur baby’ then fine and when that ‘fur baby’ ‘passed over the rainbow bridge’ it didn’t grate in me as I was too concerned at her level of grief and pain.

We have a beautiful language and it can be used to express all shades of meaning and genres. How Very Dare (! making my point) someone seeks to limit my choice of vocabulary or phraseology just because it gets in their nerves.

Ilovecheese Tue 06-Mar-18 13:50:12

I can't stand "boobs"

BlueBelle Tue 06-Mar-18 13:41:45

I m glad I didn’t upset you Anniebach and yes of course its a personal thing there are just a few very nauseating sayings going round and I m afraid fur babies and rainbow bridges come into the category for me
And if you notice I did say I was probably being unreasonable but I thought it was worth a chat about anyway

Anniebach Tue 06-Mar-18 13:37:20

BlueBelle, what is flowery to you is comforting to others, I know you didn't want to upset anyone, certaintly didn't upset me ?

BlueBelle Tue 06-Mar-18 13:31:47

Cherry I wasn’t talking about young children although personally I don’t think it’s that useful either because then the child is upset they can’t go over ‘ the rainbow bridge’ to be with their pet
I didn’t mention passed on or passed away as to me they seem in such regular use as to be normal speak
I wasn t actually even referring just to death in my original post I was thinking if all the ‘ pretty terms’ used to describe all sorts of things
I even think the hurricane names are daft how can you have something that causes death and destruction called Emma or Sue
But yes just me maybe and I certainly didn’t mean to upset anyone recently berieved by my post
Although I don’t come from ooop north I agree with you Annsixty say things as they are

Cherrytree59 Tue 06-Mar-18 11:14:22

I have to agree with Annie
As much as it may grate it is the person and how they deal with loss that counts.
Over the rainbow bridge could be a useful term when very young children have to deal with a loss.

Anniebach Tue 06-Mar-18 10:22:36

Definitely MissA, my darling daughter died last November but her soul didn't and it is I who am lost so she is lost to me

If people grieving for a much loved pet finds comfort in Rainbow Bridge then why not talk of Rainbow Bridge

Teetime Tue 06-Mar-18 10:15:21

Thank you Anniebach that's lovely - and typical.

MissAdventure Tue 06-Mar-18 10:07:54

Passed away, or lost to refer to someone dying seems ok to me. I sometimes say I lost my daughter, because that is exactly how I feel about it.

Anniebach Tue 06-Mar-18 10:03:13

I couldn't care less, if passed helps a person deal with grief then fine with me to dismiss this is cruel in my opinion and rather smug

MissAdventure Tue 06-Mar-18 10:03:03

Fur babies and rainbow bridges get on my wick.
I also don't like children referred to as "littlies" and "little man".
Then again, I call children 'kids', which others don't like.

midgey Tue 06-Mar-18 09:59:30

The trouble with euphemism is that they can be misunderstood, I had absolutely no idea what you were talking about! I am amazingly stupid thoughgrin.