"Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne"
About this Quote
Crisp’s line slices through polite language with the kind of dandified cruelty he perfected: euphemism as stink management. “Unpleasant truths” are not denied here; they’re just deodorized, dressed for company, made presentable enough to survive the room. The joke lands because it’s bodily. “Diplomatic cologne” turns rhetoric into scent, implying cover-up, performance, and a certain desperation to be liked. Euphemisms don’t remove the odor; they announce that someone thinks there’s something to hide.
The intent is less to ban euphemism than to expose its social function. “Diplomatic” points to institutions and dinner parties alike: governments softening “civilian casualties,” employers reframing “layoffs,” families translating “drunk” into “tired.” Crisp understood that language is a costume, and that costumes are often for the comfort of observers, not the dignity of the wearer. The subtext is about power: euphemisms are typically applied downward, administered by those who can afford distance from the mess. If the truth is “unpleasant,” it’s unpleasant for someone; cologne is what the unaffected spritz on before entering the scene.
Context matters. Crisp, a queer English writer who built a public persona around unflinching candor, spent decades watching society sanitize what it feared naming: sexuality, poverty, violence, illness. His aphorism reads like a survival tactic sharpened into a moral stance. Don’t just mistrust the softened phrase; ask who benefits from the softening, and what reality is being made easier to ignore.
The intent is less to ban euphemism than to expose its social function. “Diplomatic” points to institutions and dinner parties alike: governments softening “civilian casualties,” employers reframing “layoffs,” families translating “drunk” into “tired.” Crisp understood that language is a costume, and that costumes are often for the comfort of observers, not the dignity of the wearer. The subtext is about power: euphemisms are typically applied downward, administered by those who can afford distance from the mess. If the truth is “unpleasant,” it’s unpleasant for someone; cologne is what the unaffected spritz on before entering the scene.
Context matters. Crisp, a queer English writer who built a public persona around unflinching candor, spent decades watching society sanitize what it feared naming: sexuality, poverty, violence, illness. His aphorism reads like a survival tactic sharpened into a moral stance. Don’t just mistrust the softened phrase; ask who benefits from the softening, and what reality is being made easier to ignore.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|
More Quotes by Quentin
Add to List
