Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of euphemisms

 This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was delete. Eugene van der Pijll 19:24, 4 August 2005 (UTC)

List of euphemisms
Although I have edited this article, and although nearly all the edits made have been in good faith, I am of the opinion that it cannot be upgraded to a good-quality article. Specifically, this article has the following inherent problems.

Wikipedia is not a collection of lists: This is, perforce, a list, and can never be made much else. The list can never be exhaustive, nor really more than randomly selective.

Wikipedia is not a dictionary: To the extent that this topic is notable, it should contain instances of first or notable use and/or other information suitable to a dictionary.

Information should be verifiable: nearly all the information in these lists (my edtis included) are unsourced. To the extent that the information can be verified from common experience, it is not notable.

A huge number of the entries have been, and remain a soapbox, causing POV problems. The difficulty is that the distinction between euphemism and jargon is inherently subjective, rendering this topic inherently POV.

Accordingly, I believe that deletion is the best solution, but I would be happy to be proven wrong and see a proposal for turning this into an encyclopedic article or an appropriate transwiki. Robert A West 14:33, 22 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Keep. Useful for non-native speakers. - Dv 14:44, July 22, 2005 (UTC)
 * Please remember to sign (~) your comments, otherwise, your vote may not be counted. -- BMIComp (talk, HOWS MY DRIVING) 14:42, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * OH REALLY? - Dv 14:44, July 22, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete I wasn't going to nominate it, but I saw the same problems. -- BMIComp (talk, HOWS MY DRIVING) 14:42, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. This list can and will go on forever if it is allowed to stay; UrbanDictionary isn't exactly a small site in its own right. Some of these euphemisms could serve as fine Wikitionary entries, but most are disposable and some aren't even euphemisms at all. This page does not serve as a source of reference. --Several Times 14:46, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete by Several Times' rationale --malathion talk 15:40, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete per Several Times -Harmil 16:34, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, WP:NOT a dictionary, "idiom guide", etc. Dcarrano 17:35, July 22, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete by Several Times' rationale. Additionally, it is hard to distinguish between euphemism and dysphemism and many of the examples on the list are more the latter, such as those labeled crude.  However, I think expanded examples in the original article are warranted, as would expanded examples on the dysphemism page be.--Janezy 22:52, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. There are several hundred euphemisms for "to die" alone, and the  euphemism treadmill says that the number will keep growing forever. --Carnildo 23:37, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, unmaintainable, potential source of edit wars. Pavel Vozenilek 23:43, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Euphemism is getting quite long even without a long list of examples, and besides, this list is interesting! --Idont Havaname 00:07, 23 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete unmaintainable list. JamesBurns 04:29, 23 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Move to wikibooks     21:53, 24 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete &mdash; WP:NOT &#10149;the Epopt 14:21, 25 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Split &mdash; into more specific and easily maintainable articles (not merely lists), and cite sources; Archaic religious euphemisms in the English language, Common euphemisms for sexual intercourse in 20th century American English, Euphemisms for bodily functions in 18th century British English, etc. --Corvun 19:58, July 26, 2005 (UTC)
 * If someone wishes to do one or more of those, they can start from scratch as easily as from this list. I have added a note on Talk:Euphemism, which should serve as sufficient impetus. Robert A West 14:36, 27 July 2005 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.