Tag: euphemism
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Go nuclear
Idiom: Go nuclear While at first blush, the idea of going nuclear may be an extremely delicate topic for some Japanese, the term itself is more of a euphemism for extremism. If you go nuclear, you become outraged and use force to the full extent of being extreme and perhaps in an irrational way. Imagine…
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Holy cow
WotD: Holy cow To anybody trying to learn English, it must seem like a bizarre language. Let’s take the expression ‘Holy cow!” as an example. A few days ago, a student pointed out that it was used in two of the articles we were using for our conversation topic. This student asked me what it…
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Snake oil
Word of the Day: Snake oil You can’t blame anyone new to Japan for thinking Japanese love to take pills. It seems there’s an infomercial flogging a remedy for every ailment of the human body. It’s all snake oil if you ask me. Take a few turtles, kill’em, grind’em up, turn’em into powder and press’em…
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File 13
Word of the Day: File Thirteen File Thirteen is a euphemism for a garbage can or trash can. Now that I think of it, English has many different ways to refer to garbage receptacles around us. We could refer to them as trash cans, rubbish bins, round files, circular files, dustbins, wastebaskets, wastepaper baskets, ashcans…
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Watering hole
WotD: Watering hole In natural environments worldwide, you’ll find animals down at the local watering hole for a drink. The watering hole can be quite a dangerous place. The carnivores like to hang out there. They know that the herbivores have to come down for a drink sometime, and they’ll be vulnerable. On Friday and Saturday nights all around…
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Spend a penny
English Idiom: Spend a penny How would you like it if you were trying to spend a penny without paying and someone started to take away the portable toilet? Would you think it was funny? The first thing to know is that spend a penny is a euphemism that means to use the restroom. In…
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Go under the knife
English Expression: Go under the knife Nobody wants to go under the knife, which is a euphemism for having an operation, but sometimes, it is a necessary evil that must be endured. It’s one of the miracles of modern medicine that a person who is exceptionally sick can have an operation and be perfectly healthy…
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F-bomb
Word of the Day: F-bomb F-bomb is a euphemism for the four-letter-word fu**. Sometimes, people will use fu** or swear in an inappropriate situation. Perhaps they’re at their grandmother’s birthday party or a business dinner, and the word slips out. In cases such as that, we can say that they dropped the f-bomb. Whenever fu**…
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Cut the cheese
English Idiom: Cut the cheese Hello there. Today’s idiom is a very informal one. You do not want to cut the cheese in an elevator. It would help if you did not cut the cheese on a date with your girlfriend. Never cut the cheese in your wife’s futon. Cutting the cheese is not a…
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Do your Business
English Idiom: Do Your Business Sometimes, an idiom and a euphemism can be very similar. Some people feel uncomfortable talking about using the toilet. So, a unique idiom to use in this situation is to say that someone is doing their business. Instead of saying that they were using the toilet, some people will say…
