Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
euphemism, euphuism (nn.)
Although they both have to do with diction and therefore with style, there is little reason for confusion of these words. Euphemisms are words substituted for others because they are thought to be less offensive, distasteful, crude, or ugly than the originals. Euphuism was the extremely artificial, pretentious, and high-flown style espoused in sixteenth-century Britain by the novelist John Lyly and his imitators. It was full of elaborate similes, extreme balance and antithesis in syntax, and a generally self-conscious elegance in every aspect of its language. Today a euphuistic style can also refer to any such artificial, consciously ornate, decorative style of prose.
