Enema euphemisms

It was always you need a good enema. It will help you. Tell me when your ready.

When I was young, mom was to the point. After dinner, when we were watching TV before bed, she'd get up and say, "come with me, I'll give you your enema now. My wife says, "you don't look so good. Come with me and I'll fix you up".

When young and sitting on the john for too long, my mom would call out, "any luck yet". While not quite an enema euphemism, it meant I'd soon be getting an enema, as I could here the familiar sounds of the metal pot clanking about, water running to fill it, and the box of Ivory Snow being gotten.

Ddell2, my mom also called it a physic. When she would warn me that if I didn't go soon, she was going to have to give me a physic, I knew that she was soon going to be using the syringe on me.

When I was young, my mom used the term "a little water", as in "I will give you a little water to help you poop." I don't remember her using the word enema when talking to me but I made the connection one evening. On Fridays, mom and dad would drop me and my brothers off at Grandma's while they went shopping. We liked that because grandpa let us watch The Gillett Cavalcade of Sports with him which was often boxing, which we did not watch at home. One time when we were dropped off, I heard mom tell grandma that I had complained of a tummy ache earlier and I had not had much appetite at supper. Mom said she had been busy and did not have time to do it earlier, so could grandma give me a small enema? After mom and dad had left, grandma called me into the bathroom where she was holding a red bulb, just like the one we had at home. That is when I learned that an enema was a little water to help me poop.

My friend's mother would say to her in Spanish, no has corregido ayer necesitas una ayuda. You didn't go yesterday, you need an enema. The bulb syringe was a jeringa pera or bombilla and the bag, bolsa irrigadora.

"you need a help" ... interesting, but I guess it works. I've always used "una lavativa" (a little wash), my wife doesn't quite get the whole thing yet but she knows what I'm talking about with that.

What part of the Spanish speaking world did you grow up in? I know Central America isn't big on enemas.

Interesting to hear how enema is said in different languages. "bombilla" sound very bomb-like, which a red bulb full of super strong soapy water sure is 😁

My friend's mother would say to her in Spanish, no has corregido ayer necesitas una ayuda. You didn't go yesterday, you need an enema. The bulb syringe was a jeringa pera or bombilla and the bag, bolsa irrigadora.

My Mother would sometimes say to me "It's time for your "THING!!" My little brother would tell me that "Mom wants you, it's time for your "ANIMAL!" Best Pet I have ever had! And unlike most pets that don't live very long... My "ANIMAL" keeps right on loving me and giving me much pleasure!

My friend's parents were from Argentina and it is a very European country. So she and her sisters got plenty of enemas growing up. I am from the US.

I've heard them called, "BM's"

Wouldn't calling an enema "BM" pretty much the same as calling food "digestion"? The former is akin to a cause, whereas the latter is a consequence...

How about a "high hot one". My mom the nurse only used the word enema but Grandma used a 'cleanout"

Ddell2, my mom also called it a physic. When she would warn me that if I didn't go soon, she was going to have to give me a physic, I knew that she was soon going to be using the syringe on me.

"Physic" - that's what my father called it, as well as a next door neighbour (a man who when my parents asked how he kept so full of energy, he said it was because he took a physic every week). Anyway, the word never had the same scariness/shock value like "enema".

My grandmother always called an enema a physic. She was born in 1895.

I do remember my Mom and Grandmother calling it a physic also. Especially if we were out in the car and someone farted, they would both say I think someone needs a physic when we get home! 😃

@PunitiveDaddy

Could'nt BM mean Bowel Mover?

As a kid I got constipated several times a year so my mom started to check most evenings. At bath time, she'd look at my underwear to see if they were soiled, especially if I seemed 'out of sorts'. If she thought i was actually constipated, she'd tell me to sit on the toilet and try to go.

When I was sitting, she'd get a plastic pitcher out from the cabinet under the sink, drop in a bar of Ivory hand soap, and fill the pitcher with warm water and put the pitcher on the counter and leave, telling me not to wipe or flush.

After a few minutes, she'd return, carrying a box with a bulb syringe, or, as I grew older, a flat blue box with a Rexall Roxbury fountain syringe. I was told to stand and she'd check for results. She'd then tell me I could wipe and flush, or 'you didn't try hard enough. You need to be convinced to go now.' and she'd fill either the bulb or the bag.

I had to stand, feet apart, bent at the waist, hands on the toilet seat while she squeezed several bulbs full into me. Later, I got a bag full of the warm, soapy water from the bag in the same position.

The solution always 'convinced' me quickly and powerfully.

The solution always 'convinced' me quickly and powerfully.

Here's a new euphemism perhaps: 'you need a good convincing' ... ha ha

Oh yes how well I remember that phrase from my Mom or Aunt,

"It's time for an enema"

My husband and I used the word "treatment" to try and be subtle around the girls. One day, and I think my oldest was about 12, she announced at breakfast, "I know Daddy gave you enema last night. Did it make you better?" After that, we called an enema, well... an enema!

A friend of mine used to say you need a Hot soapy Bougie and not the candle variety. ?

My husband and I used the word "treatment" to try and be subtle around the girls. One day, and I think my oldest was about 12, she announced at breakfast, "I know Daddy gave you enema last night. Did it make you better?" After that, we called an enema, well... an enema!

This made me smile - Our kids are smarter than we think....

@miker "Time for your animal"! I like that. Sweet. Thank you all for your interesting responses and memories. Sorry this is so late, I confess I haven't checked my feed in months!

The “just because” enemas were announced as, “It’s time you had a good cleaning out.” That phrase was also used when constipated. When sick, it referred to as an enema, as in, “After I take your temperature you’re getting an enema.”

I had an aunt who used the term physic, while another aunt referred to enemas as colonics. She also went for colonics, so she used the word to mean either. On the telephone my mother would inform her sister that I’d been cleaned out or needed to be cleaned out.

Growing up and at home now we did not use euphemism. It was simply said that you were taking an enema.

It was almost always when we get home the doctor say's you need an enema.

Dad:"It is time to intervene. What are you feeling? Enema? Laxative? Full deal(Meaning both)? Talk to me!"

It was sometimes referred as a physic, or you have a bug that needs washed out.

A female friend of my parents wasn’t feeling well one day when she was at our house. I will always remember her husband saying, “Maybe she needs a little squirt!” Since then, squirt and enema have always been synonymous for me.

My parents always taught me the correct words for things (penis, scrotum, testicles, anus, etc) so an enema was called an enema. I can only think of one time my mom used the phrase "you need a good cleaning" because we had house guests. I appreciated her discretion that time (but wasn't too thrilled that 'house guests' were not a good enough reason to deviate from our schedule. I mean they were leaving the next day!)