Why Do Folks Say, "Passed Away?"

[Campbell]

Are they so afraid of death that they can't say somebody died?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

And the other 'put to sleep' for pur companion animals.

'Deader than shit' upset people I guess.

 

[Campbell]

And the other 'put to sleep' for pur companion animals.

'Deader than shit' upset people I guess.

Amazing isn't it.....the one thing that's a certainty for everybody and they can't even realize it actually happening.

'Course my wife and I are old but we've already made all our plans for death. We own two lots in a nice memorial park and we both wish to be cremated and the ashes interred in those plots. Everything down to the last detail has been put in writing and paid for. Not one of my survivors will have to do a thing until the last one of us dies and then all they will need to do is make a phone call authorizing the body to be sent to the crematory and the ashes returned to the memorial park.

 

[September]

"Passed away" is just a traditional way of saying that someone's time and Life has passed and they are gone.​

 

[Delta4Embassy]

And the other 'put to sleep' for pur companion animals.

'Deader than shit' upset people I guess.

Amazing isn't it.....the one thing that's a certainty for everybody and they can't even realize it actually happening.

'Course my wife and I are old but we've already made all our plans for death. We own two lots in a nice memorial park and we both wish to be cremated and the ashes interred in those plots. Everything down to the last detail has been put in writing and paid for. Not one of my survivors will have to do a thing until the last one of us dies and then all they will need to do is make a phone call authorizing the body to be sent to the crematory and the ashes returned to the memorial park.

Have cremation in my verbal will to my Mom, brother, and his wife. Don't like the idea of my body remaining when my life has left it. Just seems wrong. Suppose once I'm done using it I'm not gonna really care, but still. Harvest it for parts first, then wiggle my toes a bit to make sure I'm really dead then incinerate the husk.

 

[Grandma]

"Passed away" is a softer term than "died." Those deeply grieving need the blow softened as much as possible. Other soft terms are "passed on," "was called home to Jesus," "went to the Other Side."

 

[Freewill]

Are they so afraid of death that they can't say somebody died?

Passed from this life to the next. Passed away, pass on.

 

[Mudda]

Passed, like a bad gas.

 

[Compost]

Euphemisms can make things less awful, just a little easier to bare. Does it really harm us to cut each other some slack now and then? For instance, if I were to call Campbell a ninny rather than an arrogant prick, it is more polite. A euphemism is gentler. See what I mean?

 

[Sallow]

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

I will have "Dead Can Dance" played at my funeral. There will be no escaping the fact.

 

[cnm]

I believe 'passed away' is considered more appropriate than 'pining for the fjords'.

 

[Campbell]

"Passed away" is a softer term than "died." Those deeply grieving need the blow softened as much as possible. Other soft terms are "passed on," "was called home to Jesus," "went to the Other Side."

Yep! I knew that ridiculous "Jesus Shit" would come in. A 2000 year old fairy tale and it would be deader than a fritter if the continuous brainwashing of innocent, gullible children had been discontinued. That's the only thing which has caused that nonsense to still be a topic of conversation. You can teach a child anything. The cannibals taught their young that consuming human flesh and drinking their blood was a religious ritual for thousands of years......then the new church taught them that to eat a cracker and drink some wine amounted to the same thing. Much tidier when one thinks about it.

 

[Campbell]

Euphemisms can make things less awful, just a little easier to bare. Does it really harm us to cut each other some slack now and then? For instance, if I were to call Campbell a ninny rather than an arrogant prick, it is more polite. A euphemism is gentler. See what I mean?

My skin is anything but thin....."Fire Away!"

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Are they so afraid of death that they can't say somebody died?

As to the origin of this and other euphamisms for death I suspect it started as a way of explaining a thing without naming the thing. Like how some still whisper things when mentioning them as with diseases, "She's been diagnosed with (whispered: cancer.)" Or, "Her mother just (whispered: passed away from cancer.)" Like in order to not jinx yourself bringing the thing upon yourself by mentioning it.

 

[DGS49]

There are many euphemisms to describe death, some of them almost humorous ("bought the farm," "kicked the bucket"). My personal least-favorite is "passed."

If a person has died, then just say it. Semantically softening the blow doesn't make them any less dead.

 

[cnm]

In this part of the world, cannibalism is thought more to have entailed the idea of the ultimate insult.

 

[Compost]

"Passed away" is a softer term than "died." Those deeply grieving need the blow softened as much as possible. Other soft terms are "passed on," "was called home to Jesus," "went to the Other Side."

Yep! I knew that ridiculous "Jesus Shit" would come in. A 2000 year old fairy tale and it would be deader than a fritter if the continuous brainwashing of innocent, gullible children had been discontinued. That's the only thing which has caused that nonsense to still be a topic of conversation. You can teach a child anything. The cannibals taught their young that consuming human flesh and drinking their blood was a religious ritual for thousands of years......then the new church taught them that to eat a cracker and drink some wine amounted to the same thing. Much tidier when one thinks about it.

Yet you keep posting in the Religion and Ethics forum where you are likely to bump into "Jesus Shit". I'll skip the euphemism this time in calling you what you are: a self righteous loudmouth.

 

[Campbell]

There are many euphemisms to describe death, some of them almost humorous ("bought the farm," "kicked the bucket"). My personal least-favorite is "passed."

If a person has died, then just say it. Semantically softening the blow doesn't make them any less dead.

I'm 81 years old. During my lifetime I've experienced a lot of death. The first time was when I was 19 years old and my best friend was killed in a car accident. I was a pallbearer at his funeral. Friends, associates, in-laws, colleagues, etc. over a 60 year period I won't trouble you with details. My parents were expected, my dad 89 and my Mama was 102 years old. The most expected and anticipated part of a normal life is death.....the young just don't realize it...they're gonna be the first generation to live forever.

 

[Campbell]

"Passed away" is a softer term than "died." Those deeply grieving need the blow softened as much as possible. Other soft terms are "passed on," "was called home to Jesus," "went to the Other Side."

Yep! I knew that ridiculous "Jesus Shit" would come in. A 2000 year old fairy tale and it would be deader than a fritter if the continuous brainwashing of innocent, gullible children had been discontinued. That's the only thing which has caused that nonsense to still be a topic of conversation. You can teach a child anything. The cannibals taught their young that consuming human flesh and drinking their blood was a religious ritual for thousands of years......then the new church taught them that to eat a cracker and drink some wine amounted to the same thing. Much tidier when one thinks about it.

Yet you keep posting in the Religion and Ethics forum where you are likely to bump into "Jesus Shit". I'll skip the euphemism this time in calling you what you are: a self righteous loudmouth.

Self Righteous??? Brudder.....you're in the wrong ball park. I'm not righteous and I'm proud of it. I played dance band piano on weekends for thirty years and let me vouch for one old belief..."The Boys In The Band Get The Pretty Girls"