Americans use euphemisms all the time. That's what being politcally correct is all about. We euphemize people who are handicapped ("mentally or physically challenged"), people who get fired ("got a pink-slip"), and peope who are bums ("homeless"). I can understand (to some degree) being sensitive to people, but do we really need to be sensitive to cars? Why must we call a used car "pre-owned"?
And how about those job euphemisms? "Sanitary engineer"? He's a trashman! If I were a real engineer, that would be offensive to me. Now we have to call a janitor a "custodian." Most janitors are aware of the fact that they are janitors. Who are they kidding? A spade's a spade.
While PC euphemisms can be irritating, I have to admit, there are lots of euphemisms that I really enjoy. For example, there are a lot of ways to describe someone who is stupid: off his rocker; a few bricks short of a load; a few fries short of a happy meal; not the sharpest knife in the drawer; not the brightest crayon in the box; rode the short bus; depriving a village of an idiot.
And why is it, if we're supposed to be so sensitive, that we have so many euphemisms for death: kicked the bucket; bit the dust; cashed in his chips; kicked the oxygen habit; checked in to the Wooden Waldorf; mailed in his warranty card; married OJ....and the list goes on.
Pretty much anything bad can be made to sound pleasant (or at least better than it actually is): being old, sick, drunk, crazy...in fact, there once was a guy who wasn't very bright, so he went out and got lit. He was over the hill, but under the weather. He didn't really like to play games (he wasn't exactly playing with a full deck), but he was tossing his cookies. This man was a little short on funds: he was out of work, he lived in Section 8, and he let his car go back to the bank. His life was out of order and he was going to end up doing some time. But then he found out he was HIV positive and not long after that, he bought the farm. By the way, he was not light in his loafers...it was a blood transfusion. [/life]