Here is a list of trite expressions to look for in your writing and speaking. Click HERE for a handful of examples taken from the sports pages of The Hartford Courant . A euphemism is a word or phrase that substitutes for language the speaker or writer feels is too blunt or somehow offensive. And, at the silly extreme, a garbage collector is a sanitation engineer , a janitor is a custodial engineer . What the writer must guard against is the tendency of euphemisms not only to shield readers from harsh reality but also to obfuscate meaning and truth.
Good writing tells the truth and tells it plain.