# Odd Euphemisms **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745 "2021-12-09T01:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/21 "2021-12-11T15:21:44Z")
This doesn’t really belong in this thread, but it’s not worthy of a thread of its own. When I was little, dad’s euphemism for farting was ‘let wind’. I’ve never heard anyone else say that. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/22 "2021-12-11T17:38:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When I was little, dad’s euphemism for farting was ‘let wind’. I’ve never heard anyone else say that. I’ve heard of “break wind”, but that’s not quite the same. My dad used to blame farts on “barking spiders”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/23 "2021-12-11T17:39:18Z")
Yes, ‘break wind’ is common. I wear lounging pyjamas when I lounge. I wear a smoking jacket when I smoke. I’ve just put on my windbreaker… ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/24 "2021-12-11T18:07:26Z")
_Who’s walking down the streets of the city Smiling at everybody she sees…_ I guess we know why ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/25 "2021-12-12T02:23:21Z")
Pavement Person, or better yet, Sidewalk Settler. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/26 "2021-12-12T02:41:47Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > “ **energetic disassembly** ”. According to C. Montgomery Burns, Springfield Nuclear Plant doesn’t have meltdowns, it has “unrequested fission surplus(es).” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/27 "2021-12-12T06:03:49Z")
In the kitchen of the house, we had a rug with a picture of a running chicken woven into it. Occasionally I would vacuum the rug. Over time, we started to use the expression ‘vacuuming the chicken’ as a general-purpose euphemism to suggest that all sorts of things were being covered up. “Sorry I couldn’t come to the phone! I was, um, vacuuming the chicken.” (While cleaning the kitchen) “Look! I’m vacuuming the chicken in broad daylight! And I’m not even ashamed!” “Did I hear you vacuuming the chicken last night?” 😀 ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/28 "2021-12-12T06:25:50Z")
And the euphemism treadmill continues. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/29 "2021-12-14T21:43:26Z")
P.J. O’Rourke’s piece about Australia in _Rolling Stone_ said that vomiting there is “chundering” or “the Technicolor yawn.” Going to pee, he said, is “draining the lizard,” and heading to the men’s room is “going a-snakes.” An old joke says if you eat beans with your Viagra, you get a stiff wind. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/30 "2021-12-14T22:01:08Z")
[quote=“AskNott, post:29, topic:955745”] P.J. O’Rourke’s piece about Australia in _Rolling Stone_ said that vomiting there is “chundering”….[/quote] There is a lyric in the Men at Work song, “Down Under” that goes “beer does flow and men do chunder”. I somehow googled it (figuratively, as this was before the internet) and learned what it meant. I’m surprised it wasn’t already well-known enough to be mentioned in the O’Rourke piece, considering the popularity of that song. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/31 "2021-12-14T22:23:31Z")
US Department of “Defense” ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/32 "2021-12-14T23:20:50Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > There is a lyric in the Men at Work song, “Down Under” that goes “beer does flow and men do chunder”. I thought they were saying, “the men douche under.” > [@MortSahlFan](#): > > US Department of “Defense” We have a thread winner. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/33 "2021-12-15T00:03:41Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > My dad used to blame farts on “barking spiders”. “Sheet frogs” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/34 "2021-12-15T00:16:32Z")
Initializing the Speculative Thunder-Boot ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/35 "2021-12-15T00:55:51Z")
If I think about it enough, there are a whole host of odd or funny euphemisms: Vomiting into a toilet: talking to Ralph on the big white phone. Urinating: taking a leak, draining the lizard Defecating: pinching a loaf, dropping a deuce Intercourse: the horizontal mambo, making whoopee Breasts: fun bags Brassiere: Over the shoulder boulder holder Male genitalia: Junk, the family jewels Female genitalia: the bearded clam, the vertical smile Dying: going to the great big \*\* in the sky, kicking the bucket, croaking Getting a haircut: getting your ears lowered A man’s hernia check: short arm inspection Pet: fur baby Getting fired: getting a pink slip, being named fresh air inspector Pregnant: got a bun in the oven I’m sure I’ll think of more while I’m trying to sleep tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/36 "2021-12-15T01:06:36Z")
You might enjoy _Roger’s Profanisaurus_, originally part of _Viz_ magazine in the UK. A list of thousands of euphemisms, mostly fabricated, mostly obscene, with accompanying explanations - many of which cross-referenced other supposed euphemisms. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/37 "2021-12-15T02:26:01Z")
“It needs percussive maintenance” or “it needs to have its fractal boundary basins remapped” - - Whack the thing to see if that makes it work. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/38 "2021-12-15T03:00:21Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > But what about legalisms? I heard of an instance where something blew apart (from entrapped hydrogen) and the defendant’s lawyers told everyone to refer to the event as “ **energetic disassembly** ”. Scott Manley (an aerospace YouTuber) often mentions “rapid unscheduled disassembly” in reference to in-flight rocket failures. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/39 "2021-12-15T06:27:28Z")
This is probably more in the category of “annoyingly PC” rather than “odd”, but I really, really hate the euphemisms “affordable” (as in, housing) and “accessible” (as in, buildings). It’s probably because I tend to be literal-minded, and when something is described in those terms, I think about their opposites. After all, every descriptive adjective should have a corresponding antonym. So if I’m not living in subsidized housing, or in an appliance carton under a bridge, am I therefore living in “unaffordable housing”? If a building doesn’t have a wheelchair ramp, does that mean it’s “inaccessible”, and I’ll have to hire a helicopter and be lowered in through the skylight on the roof? How about calling subsidized housing “subsidized housing”? I might be a bit more willing to give “accessible” a pass, but I’d prefer to call it something like “facilitated access”. Because every damn building open to the public is “accessible” to the public, by definition. An example of a building that is not “accessible”? The US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. They probably don’t even have a doorbell. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745/40 "2021-12-15T06:51:09Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > An example of a building that is not “accessible”? Any building with stairs, with narrow doorways, with outlets too low or too high, ditto light switches and sinks, with door knobs vs. levers. Far more buildings are inaccessible than are universally accessible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-euphemisms/955745.md?page=3)