We may enjoy Freedom of Speech, but when dealing with certain subjects - for instance death, poverty, physical appearance - we are rarely free to express ourselves directly. Personal shame, the frailty of those we speak to and Society's politically correct standards have all contributed to the ever-growing collection of descriptive - and often hilarious - expressions created to circumnavigate the unmentionable.
'Bloomsbury Dictionary of Euphemisms presents a guide through this uncertain tangle of acceptability. Over 3,000 euphemisms are set out in a series of essays under such headings as Funerals, Male Genitals, Gambling and Employment, highlighted in bold print and supported by a comprehensive index to allow quick alphabetical access. The result is a book suited both for reference and close reading, revealing origins as diverse as Samuel Pepys, the Observer, Princess Alice's 1864 Memoirs and Nigel Lawson. It encompasses such circumlocutions as "houses of accommodation" containing "ladies of the night", "the filth" arresting "liberators" of "readies", "buns in the oven" and "going for a Burton".
