Euʹphemisms
.Place never mentioned to ears polite. In the reign of Charles II., a worthy divine of Whitehall thus concluded his sermon: “If you donʹt live up to the precepts of the Gospel … you must expect to receive your reward in a certain place which ʹtis not good manners to mention here” (Laconics). Pope tells us this worthy divine was a dean:—
“His Satanic majesty;” “light-fingered gentry;” “a gentleman on his travels” (one transported); “she has met with an accident” (has had a child before marriage); “help” or “employé” (a servant); “not quite correct” (a falsehood); “an obliquity of vision” (a squint); “an innocent” (a fool), “beldam” (an ugly woman), and hundreds of others.
