Euphemism （委婉語）

1. Definition

Euphemism = “eu” （meaning “good”） + “pheme” （meaning “speech”）. It literally means “to speak with good words”. Euphemism is a figure of speech which consists in the substitution of a word or expression of comparatively favorable implication or less unpleasant associations， instead of the harsher or more offensive one that would more precisely designate what is intended.

2. The origin of English Euphemisms

Taboo： Euphemisms originated from primitive society. People believed that language was not merely a symbol but also with magic power. It could bring them misfortunes as well as fortunes， mentioning certain names running the risk of being punished， so they usually avoided these taboos. E.g. “death”—sleep.

Elegance： To seek beauty is one of humans natures， so whenever they deal with some inelegant physiological phenomena in communication， they tend to avoid vulgarism so as to achieve elegance. E.g. “pregnancy”—in the family way.

Politeness： According to Leechs Principle of Politeness， in communication， people usually followed such rules as appropriateness， generosity， praise， modesty， similarity and sympathy， so people often use indirect expressions to achieve politeness. E.g. “ugly”—plainlooking.

Disguise： While people use euphemisms to avoid something unhappy， vulgar or show politeness in their daily life， they often use euphemisms to disguise something in the other fields of life. E.g. “retire”—go backward.

3. Examples

To refer to death

pass away： “Her uncle passed away last year.”

fight a long battle with： “He fought a long battle with cancer.”

Humorous expressions to refer to death

meet your maker： “Hes gone to meet his maker.”

six feet under： “I wont worry about money when Im six feet under.”

pushing up daisies： “Last I heard about him， hes pushing up daisies.”

in your / his / my box： “When Im in my box you can argue all you like about the inheritance.”

kick the bucket： “So Joe has finally kicked the bucket.”

Animal euthanasia

put down： “We had to put our cat down as she was very ill.”

put an end to its suffering： “We put an end to her suffering.”

To refer to the bathroom

restroom： “Can I use the restroom？”

Where can I wash my hands？

public conveniences： “Are there any public conveniences nearby？”

ladies / gents： “The ladies and gents are down the corridor on your right.”endprint

Can I use your bathroom？

Humorous expressions to refer to the bathroom

the bog： “Hes in the bog.”

the smallest room of the house： “Id like to pay a visit to the smallest room of the house.”

powder my nose： “Where can I powder my nose？”

see a man about a dog： “Hes gone to see a man about a dog.”

Other themes

Unemployment

between jobs： “Steve is between jobs at the moment.”

a resting actor： “Harrys a resting actor.” （Only use for unemployed actors.）

Pregnancy

in the family way： “She was in the family way， so they got married.”

have a bun in the oven： “Have you heard that Katy has a bun in the oven？”

Drunk

tired and emotional： “The newspaper said the president was tired and emotional.”

have a bit too much to drink： “He had a bit too much to drink last night.”

to be a bit worse for wear： “He was a bit worse for wear by the time he came home.”

to have overindulged： “I think he overindulged in the free beer at the party.”

Lying

economical with the truth： “The boss is known for being economical with the truth.”

Arguments

full and frank discussion： “The directors had a full and frank discussion in the meeting.”

have words with someone： “Those two have had words.”

Being poor

be disadvantaged： “The government is introducing new schemes to help the disadvantaged.”

financially embarrassed： “Im afraid I cant come to the restaurant with you. Im financially embarrassed at the moment.”

Allusion（典故引用）

1. Definition

Allusion is an indirect or passing reference to some event， person， place or artistic work， an economic means of calling upon the history or the literary tradition that author and reader are assumed to share.

2. The origin of Allusion

From myth or legend or fairy tales or fable

Pandoras box： A prolific source of troubles. The story comes from Greek myth； it tells their version of the creation of the first woman and how the ills of mankind resulted. To punish Prometheus， who had stolen fire from him， Zeus ordered Hephaestus， the god of the forge， to create the first mortal woman， who was irresistibly beautiful and to whom each of the gods gave a power to insure the ruin of man.

From story of literature and folk customs

Titanic： A huge “unsinkable” ocean liner（客輪）that sank on its maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg. Now synonymous（同義的）with catastrophe， especially one brought about by arrogant confidence in the power of technology.endprint

From Historical figures and events

Meet ones waterloo： suffer a decisive or final defeat or setback. Waterloo was the scene when Napoleon was totally defeated by Duke Wellington.

3. Examples

Separate the sheep from the goats： to separate the good from the wicked； to divide good or useful people from bad or useless. “Have faith in me， please. I can separate the sheep from the goats.”

Pygmalion effect： One who creates or remakes another person by teaching skills or accomplishments and then falls in love with his or her protégé. “The Pygmalion effect is that people tend to behave as you expect they will. If you expect a person to take responsibility， they probably will. If you expect them not to even try， they probably wont. ”

The writing on the wall： a sign or warning of impending disaster. “The official saw the writing on the wall and fled the country.”

Greek gift（s）： a gift with some sinister purposes of the enemy； one given with intent to harm； a gift sent in order to murder somebody. “He is always buying you expensive clothes. Im afraid they are Greek gifts for you.”

The Achilles Heel： a weak point in something that is otherwise without fault； the weakest spot. “His Achilles heel was his pride—he would get very angry if anyone criticized his work.”

鞏固練習

一、將下列委婉語翻譯成中文

1. slow learners2. social disease3. preowned cars4. appearance engineer5. economic depression

二、將下列句子中畫線部分典故翻譯成中文

1. He has a large family， and is as poor as a church mouse.

2. They think of themselves as the salt of the earth.

3. That fellow completely misled us about what he was capable of doing. After praising the wine， he sold us vinegar.

4. The trouble is youre too goodnatured and people take advantage of it， all lay load on the willing horse. You will have to learn to refuse people who ask too much.

5. For the rest of his life he regretted what he had said， but a word spoken is past recalling and he knew he could never repair the damage of that moment of harshness.

參考答案

一、1. 學習成績差的學生2. 艾滋病3. 二手車4. 美容師5. 經(jīng)濟危機

二、1.一貧如洗。2.中堅力量。3.掛羊頭賣狗肉。4. 人善被人欺，馬善被人騎。5. 一言既出，駟馬難追。

（作者：汪建華，南通大學附屬中學）endprint