In Napalm and Silly Putty, George Carlin wrote, "I don't like euphemistic language, words that shade the truth. American English is packed with euphemism, because Americans have trouble dealing with reality, and in order to shield themselves from it they use soft language."

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Mark Peters is a language columnist, lexicographer, and collector of fanciful words. His book Yada, Yada, Doh! chronicles words and phrases that made the leap from television to everyday speech. He contributes to Verbatim, Good, and OUPblog, and he also blogs regularly at Wordlustitude, The Rosa Parks of Blogs, and The Pancake Proverbs. You can also follow Mark on Twitter. Click here to read more articles by Mark Peters.