Using mild or indirect terms to describe something unpleasant, embarrassing, or harsh; characterized by euphemism.
From Greek 'euphemismos,' combining 'eu-' (good) and 'pheme' (speech), literally meaning 'good speech.' The concept involved using favorable or neutral words to replace harsh or offensive ones, entering English through Latin in the 17th century.
Think of euphemistic as 'you-fem-istic'—making speech more feminine/gentle by softening harsh realities! It's like putting a pretty bow on an ugly package. The key insight is that euphemisms always make something sound better than it really is.
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