Euphemisms in English Everyday Discourse Eufemismy V anglickém jazykovém prostředí

1.2.6 Money Euphemisms
Generally, the money topic is not considerate as a taboo since we speak about it 
quite openly, however, not all situations dealing with money must be necessarily 
positive. When talking about money people might feel uncomfortable. Since it 
penetrates lots of aspects of our life there is a need for verbal fog and thus for 
euphemisms. In this case it is a certain manipulation through language devices used 
mainly by annual reporters, politicians, owners of great institutions, simply by those 
who have something in common with an extreme amount of money. It sounds definitely 
better 
to leverage purchase
rather than go deeply in debt. If a business has no customers 
it is in a 
start-up mode 
and when they shrink it means that they 
have negative growth, 
soft spots
and they 
experience a shortfall
. “Such verbal dodges make shady practices 

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23 
sound positively sunny (Keyes, 2010: 169).” 
Gift, donations, commission, rebate, 
consultant’s fee
and 
the contribution 
they all refer to a bribe.
Euphemistic synonyms for money are for example 
funds, finances
or 
currency
and if you do not have much of them you are no longer broke, but 
financially insecure, 
insolvent, under budget constraints 
or you 
have limited means
or 
cash-flow problems
.
Wages became 
salaries, compensation
or 
remuneration
and 
the revenue
is used instead 
of income. All these euphemisms soften the direct terms that were once commonly used 
and the practical parts deals with some of them in details.