20 English Euphemisms to Describe People and Aging

If someone were to describe you as a late bloomer or a

wallflower, what would they be saying about you?

Or if a colleague is celebrating a birthday and someone else says,

now you're over the hill, what exactly do they mean?

Welcome to the world of euphemisms in English.

Euphemisms are similar to idioms in the fact that they're figurative.

We don't rely on the literal meaning of the words. Instead,

there's some sort of shared common understanding of what those words

mean in certain contexts. As a result,

euphemisms can be a challenge to decode. In fact,

their purpose is to soften uncomfortable topics or to

help us speak about unpleasant topics indirectly.

In other words,

they can be a more polite way to talk about sensitive topics such as

bodily functions, finances, politics, aging,

death, and more. In this Confident English lesson today,

I'm going to share with you 20 common English euphemisms we use to describe

people and to talk about aging.

I also include euphemisms we commonly use to talk about end of life.

Now, before we get into all of that, if you don't already know,

I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident English.

Everything I do here is designed to help you get the confidence you want for

your life and work in English.

One way I do that is with these weekly Confident English lessons where I share

my top fluency and confidence-building strategies,

conversational topics and the words you need to discuss them appropriately

and advanced-level vocabulary lessons. Just like this one today.

While you're here,

make sure you subscribe to my Speak Confident English YouTube channel so you

never miss one of these lessons. Now,

before we get into all of our examples of common euphemisms,

I want to step back and talk a little bit more about euphemisms versus idioms.

How exactly are they different?

Idioms are phrases with figurative meaning as opposed to literal

meaning. In this regard,

euphemisms are a type of idiom.

What's important about a euphemism is its purpose.

We intentionally use euphemisms to soften

references to taboo or sensitive topics

To get you started in exploring phrases that hide, direct meaning,

I want to share with you euphemisms we use to describe people and their

characteristics in this category. We have nine of them,

and the first one is a neat freak.

A neat freak is someone who is obsessed with tidiness and

cleanliness. For example,

my sister hates when things are out of place.

She's a bit of a neat freak. Now,

you might be wondering why are we hiding the fact that someone likes tidiness or

cleanliness when we use it in this way,

we're suggesting that perhaps someone is too focused on

being organized and clean so much so in fact,

that it may be a bit of a problem,

so we're talking about it with a softer approach using a euphemism.

The second example here is eccentric.

Someone who is described as eccentric is unconventional,

but in a charming way. For example,

my high school English teacher was eccentric and interesting.

Number three, to be free-spirited.

This can be used to describe someone who's a bit rebellious and also

unconventional. For example,

her daughter was rather free-spirited as a teenager.

Number four is not the sharpest pencil in the box.

I don't recommend using this one because it's used to say that someone isn't

very intelligent. For example,

it took me hours to solve this problem.

It should have been easier sometimes. I'm not the sharpest pencil in the box.

Number five is an unusual one to not suffer fools gladly,

and this means to be impatient or intolerant

toward others who may seem less intelligent.

For example, my aunt Carla was not a woman who suffered fools gladly.

I want to talk about this euphemism a bit more because sometimes when I hear it

or read it, it's used in a way that seems complimentary.

It can be used to suggest that someone is too smart or too

focused on their work to have time, patience, or kindness for anyone else,

particularly those who might appear to be wasting their time.

But I think this is a compliment to question.

If you think about how someone behaves,

if they're never kind toward others or don't have time to give

to other people, how do you perceive those individuals?

How would you describe that kind of behavior? In reality,

this euphemism suggests that someone lacks manners and

politeness. The next one on our list is to be a late bloomer.

We use this to say that someone has become more successful,

more attractive,

or more mature later than others in life.

For example,

she was a late bloomer as a child and didn't really begin reading until the age

of seven.

The seventh euphemism in this category is to describe someone as being

economical with the truth.

This is used to suggest that someone is lying or bending the truth.

For example, Susan's nice,

but she has a tendency to be economical with the truth.

Now, in describing the meaning of this euphemism,

I used to bend the truth.

This is an expression my fluency school students to definitely be familiar with

because in fluency school, I ask them to tell me,

do you think it's okay to bend the truth,

to avoid hurting someone's feelings? In other words,

is it okay to not give the full truth and

to be economical with the truth has a similar meaning, so I'm curious,

what do you think about that?

Is it okay to bend the truth or to be economical with the truth?

Is it okay to withhold some information from others in order

to avoid hurting their feelings?

You can share your thoughts with me on that topic in the comments below.

Number eight is wallflower,

and this means to be unsociable due to shyness. For example,

Ritas a wallflower at parties.

I want to pause here and talk about this one a bit more because it uses that

word unsociable in the definition,

and this could suggest that an individual doesn't really like being around or

talking with other people. However, that is totally untrue.

Some individuals, some wallflowers or those who are particularly shy,

love being around other people and love having conversations,

particularly when it's one-on-one or in a small group,

they enjoy delving into deep meaningful topics.

A wallflower can be someone who is sociable but still

very shy and prefers not to be the center of attention.

How do I know all of that?

Because I would absolutely describe myself as a wallflower and I know

that I love being around people,

especially when it's one-on-one or in a small group environment. Now,

the last one for this particular category is the exact opposite to be a people

person,

and this is usually used to describe someone who's very sociable and good with

people, particularly in a larger group environment.

In talking about a wallflower,

I use the example Rita is a wallflower at parties.

However, her brother is a total people person,

and now let's move on to six euphemisms we use to describe

aging. The first one is to be in your golden years.

We use this to say that someone is in the phase of life after

retirement. For example,

my grandfather's golden years were filled with adventure and laughter.

The second euphemism in this category is a senior citizen,

and this is used to describe someone who is older or elderly,

typically over 60 years of age. In English speaking culture,

it's much more polite to describe someone as a senior citizen

as opposed to simply stating that they're old.

In an example sentence might be every year the community hosts an event

for senior citizens.

Number three is to be long in the tooth,

and this is used as a humorous way to describe aging or getting

older. For example, grandma,

you're getting a little bit long in the tooth to be doing high kicks like that.

The fourth euphemism for this category is to be well seasoned.

We use this to talk about someone who's been alive for a long time and has

experience in many different situations. For example,

Seema is a well seasoned teacher. She knows her stuff.

Number five on our list is another euphemism,

typically used to be humorous to have snow on the roof.

This means to have gray or white hair on your head due to aging,

for example. There may be some snow on the roof, but I'm still very active.

And lastly, to be over the hill.

When someone is described as being over the hill,

it's a way to describe that they're old or past their prime.

They may no longer be able to do something as well as they did in the past

due to age, for example.

Ella doesn't like it when people suggest that she's over the hill.

I've highlighted that euphemisms are used to soften

talking about unpleasant or uncomfortable topics,

and for English speakers, the topic of death is often very unpleasant.

We almost never use the word death or dead.

Instead,

we use euphemisms to soften the topic and here are

five euphemisms. You should be aware of the first to pass away.

We use this euphemism often to talk about the reality that someone or

something has died. It can also be used to suggest that someone had a gentle,

peaceful death. For example,

Quinn's great-aunt passed away last night.

The second euphemism is departed and simply put,

this means to be dead or deceased. For example,

our Dear Departed friend will be missed.

When we talk about those who have passed away.

You'll often hear the euphemism to be in a better place.

Again, this simply means that someone has died.

It can also be used to describe someone as being in heaven or being

in an afterlife. For example. We know she's in a better place. Now.

The last two on this list are far more informal and can

also be used to be more humorous. The first to kick the bucket.

This can be used in place of the verb to die in a more informal,

humorous or lighthearted way. For example, in the TV show,

friends Ross and Monica's grandmother kicked the bucket twice,

and the last euphemism on our list for today is to be six feet under.

This means not only to be dead, but buried, for example.

There's no point in worrying about that.

Now will be six feet under by then.

Now that you have these 20 common euphemisms to describe people

and aging, I have three practice questions for you.

I'm going to give you some sentences and I want you to rephrase them in a more

polite way using a euphemism you learned today.

The first one is, even though I have some gray hair,

I know the latest trends. Number two, in college,

my roommate had some unconventional ways of solving problems,

and number three, by the time she finishes doing, her makeup will all be dead.

As always, you can share your answers with me in the comments below.

If you found today's lesson helpful to you,

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Thank you so much for joining me and I look forward to seeing you next time.