Task 1: Part 1: Instructions: The following sentences sound a bit harsh. What euphemisms could you use to say the things but in a softer, less direct way? 1- One of our employees spent some time in prison when he was younger. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 2- Marin’s father /uncle died in World War II. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 3- George works as a trash man, but he’s currently looking for work a janitor ………………………………………………………………………………………… 4- Sally’s German shepherd had to be killed. It had cancer. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 5- Sir I’m very sorry but there is a problem with your order. It looks like it won’t be shipped until Thursday. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 6- The job offer sounds great, but I was hoping for better pay. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 7- Did the doctor recommend getting an abortion? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 8- I think it’s great that our company provides employment opportunities to the mentally retarded. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 9- A local teacher was removed from duty due to his drug addiction. ……………………………………………………………………………………….... 10- I wouldn’t show that movie to your child there is a lot of sexual content …………………………………………………………………………………………. 11- Give me a couple of minutes to go to the bathroom and then we can continue to the conference call. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12- Let’s buy some used furniture instead of spending a fortune on new bedroom set. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13- I heard a rumor that our company is planning on firing several salespeople on Friday. ………………………………………………………………………………………. 1 Part 2: Instruction: Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the italicized euphemism with more direct language. Briefly explain why you think the euphemism was used. 1. Because of budget cuts at the company, my mother’s job was terminated without a prejudice. …………………………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. 2. Sadly the neighborhood where we used to live is now said to be in transition. ……………………………………………………………………………………….… …………………………………………………………………………………………. 3. To her great embarrassment, Eileen’s mother called her pleasingly plumb. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4. Every Tuesday night we put out our recycling bins for the sanitation engineers to pick up on Wednesday mornings. ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………. 5. Moe’s pre-owned vehicles was the newest business in town, and apparently it was extremely successful in this hard financial times. ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………….... 6. The general explained that many civilian casualties resulted during the platoon’s efforts to neutralize the target. .......................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... 7. Mary Lou was expecting again, which pleased her son and her parents enormously. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8. During this summer’s heat wave we suddenly had no electricity in my apartment, and the whole city experienced a distribution in service. …………………………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. 9. According to this defense attorney, the accused robber’s statement in court was not completely true. ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 10. The town instituted the use of school buses to enforce its new commitment to a policy of diversity. …………………………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
