By Glenn Thompson on Cracked.com
Euphemisms are terms that frame reality in just the right way, protecting everyone involved from the necessary unpleasantness. A good euphemism is the difference between "going to prison" and "getting reformed in a correctional facility."
As you'll see, euphemisms can be invented to hide some pretty horrifying things.
#12. - "Binocular Deprivation"
If You Didn't Know Better...You'd think it describes that time your mother caught you spying with some binoculars.
What it Actually Refers to...
It means sewing an animal's eyes shut for the purpose of research. We're not just talking about rats either, researchers do it to kittens too.
#10. - "Extraordinary Rendition"
If You Didn't Know Better...This makes you picture a guy at a piano, and a crowd full of people in formal wear listening with tears in their eyes.
What it Actually Refers to...The US government has kidnapped someone on foreign soil and brought them to the US, presumably for trial. Or possibly torture.
#9. - "Compassion Zone"
If You Didn't Know Better...Thanksgiving is a day for giving thanks. Why not a compassion zone as a special place for being compassionate?
What it Actually Refers to...A few years ago, Kansas City designated an area for homeless people and other undesirables as the "compassion zone," with the intention that all of the homeless found elsewhere would be rounded up and moved there. Unfortunately for the homeless, this meant the rest of the city was declared a "persecution zone" .
#8. - "End-of-life Decision-making"
If You Didn't Know Better...This seems pretty straightforward. The term is relatively abstract, sombre and dignified. We're talking about drafting a will and planning an estate right?
What it Actually Refers to... The more common expression would be "contemplating suicide." The distinction being made here is between somebody who wants to end their life because it is too painful or pointless to go on and somebody who want to end their.
#7. - "Depopulate"
If You Didn't Know Better... To get a population out of an area.
What it Actually Refers to...
To kill a herd of beasts until every single one of them is completely and irrevocably dead. You'll hear it in the context of herds or ranches full of animals that may be infected with some disease they'd rather not see spread.
#6. - "Normal Involuntary Attrition"
If You Didn't Know Better...You'd be confused. Normal involuntary attrition? "I guess if it's normal I don't need to get it checked out by my doctor. I've dodged my end of life decision making yet again."
What it Actually Refers to...Being fired. "Layoff" worked as a euphemism for a while (a term almost as comfortable-sounding as "put to sleep") but we've caught wise to that one. "Downsizing" got a nasty reputation from the get-go.
#5. - "Budget Reinforcement"
If You Didn't Know Better... The budget is falling apart? Public servants are spending too much and we need to crack down and become more responsible? Some kind of behaviorist experiment involving operant conditioning?
What it Actually Refers to...Taxes.
#4.- "Public Diplomacy"
If You Didn't Know Better...The genius of a good euphemism is making the term so dull that you don't even want to find out what it means. "Public diplomacy?" It sounds like a conference table full of old men pouring over some 500-page trade agreement.
What it Actually Refers to...Propaganda. Democracies need other words for talking about how they manufacture consent among the masses. Words that are creamier, more vanilla and topped with melted Swiss-chocolate neutrality.
#3. - "Non-operative Personnel"
If You Didn't Know Better...A person who isn't "working," like a broken stereo or something?
What it Actually Refers to...Dead soldiers
#2. - "Uninstalled"
If You Didn't Know Better...You'd think this was computer and/or appliance related.
What it Actually Refers to...Being fired/sacked
#1. - "Transfer Tubes"
If You Didn't Know Better…You'd think it means those pneumatic tubes for sending office messages .
What it Actually Refers to... Body bags (military euphemism)
I found this euphemism very interesting "Non-operative Personnel"
ReplyDeleteFirstly it is odd how humans have reached a point where they describe the value of a human life to a random machine's life. By Non-operative Personnel they mean a non operating human or a dead human. Interesting.
Thus, it is a euphemism because it makes human life sound less important so it makes the soldiers death less dramatic and it would seem less bad.
:)