euphemism treadmill

English
Examples
  • "Toilet" is an 18th-century euphemism, replacing the older euphemism "house-of-office", which replaced the even older euphemisms "privy-house" and "bog-house".

Etymology

Coined by Steven Pinker.

Noun

euphemism treadmill

  1. (lexicography) The process by which euphemisms fall into disuse and are replaced by new ones, as the old ones are deemed inappropriate over time.
    • 2011, Gary Hardcastle, ‎George Reisch, Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time
      Euphemism, if successful, exemplifies case m: the new term has a new tone, but preserves sense and reference. The sort of backfire characteristic of the 'euphemism treadmill' is a shift to case i: the tone reverts to that of the old term.
    • 2014, Trevor Patrick, Sooner Or Later, They'll Turn on You!
      Next in line was the Euphemism Treadmill,
      gaining its power from the perpetually offended;
      and once we take enough steps, it starts to run by itself,
      its gears turned and greased by political correctness.
    • 2017, Angelika Zirker, ‎Matthias Bauer, ‎Olga Fischer, Dimensions of Iconicity (page 33)
      Whereas there is a certain degree of clarity as to why the euphemism treadmill comes to exist (since people keep inventing new, often more vague names for uncomfortable things), it is not so clear why there is a constant and steady influx of new iconic coinages in the language.
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