Euphemisms
Landmark Advanced Unit 14
Warmer
Choose one of the roleplays below and try to tell your partner what happened during the weekend without saying the underlined word (which is slightly or very taboo)
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You were so tired that you fell asleep on the toilet
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You cleaned the toilet, because you hadn’t done so for two months
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When you came home, your little brother was watching a porn video
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Your pet died
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Your wife or husband was fired
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You had food poisoning and vomited several times
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You went on a blind date but he or she was really fat
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You went on a blind date but he or she was really old
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You had to punish your child for swearing, e.g. saying f*ck and sh*t
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You got really drunk
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You found out that your friend is having sex with two different people
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You saw your cousin taking drugs
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Your friend told you that they had slept with a prostitute in Amsterdam
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You found out that your teenaged sister-in-law is pregnant
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How many different ways can you think of to refer to the things above in more indirect ways?
Without looking below, listen to your teacher listing some things which are all euphemisms for the same thing. How soon can you guess what they are referring to?
throw up/ a Technicolor yawn/ bring something back up/ hurl/ a pavement pizza
powder your nose/ water the flowers/ have a slash/ have a tinkle/ have a pee/ spend a penny/ take a leak/ take a pit stop/ answer the call of nature/ relieve yourself
the smallest room/ the restroom/ the little boys’ room/ the ladies’
breaking wind/ a blow off/ bottom burp/ parp
pushing up daisies/ gone to meet their maker/ RIP/ kick the bucket/ six feet under/ in a better place/ no longer with us/ breathe one’s last/ cash in your chips/ croak/ check out/ eternal rest/
sleep with/ sleep together/ going at it like rabbits/ get laid/ go all the way/ slap and tickle/ the birds and the bees/ come up for a coffee/ have intimate relations
adult entertainment/ X rated/ blue movie
chemical dependency/ weed/ a line/ acid/ Maria/ grass
merry/ intoxicated/ hammered/ legless/ sozzled/ tipsy/ illegal substances
big boned/ ample proportions/ full figured/ likes his food
mature/ been around the block/ getting on/ not as young as he used to be
heck/ what the Dickens/ gosh/ gee/ sugar/ fiddlesticks/ the F word
a bun in the oven/ expecting/ with child/
between jobs/ gardening leave/ out of work
fall off the back of a lorry/ sticky fingers/ light fingered
streetwalker/ lady of the night/ on the job/ a professional/ call girl/ rent boy/ escort
Look at the lists and try to label them, e.g. “death”
After checking your answers with your teacher, test each other in pairs, starting with the most difficult ones in the category and then getting easier until your partner guesses what you are talking about
Using euphemisms roleplays
| Try to refer to one of the things above without using a direct expression. Your partner will pretend to misunderstand you each time |
| Tell your child that their pet has died
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| Tell your friend why you are splitting up with your boyfriend or girlfriend who is related to them, so being careful saying anything too directly negative |
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