I got a kick out of what I'm about to post. My August/September issue of First Things arrived today. David Mills, executive editor, wrote in his "While We're At It" contribution the following:
Euphemisms can be fun. A friend tells us that a small group of Franciscans he knew, conscious of their vows and their position, would, when they wanted to say a woman was pretty, say: "She looks Irish."
Me: So now my friends and I have a new communication code: "She looks Irish." Ha!