Coup de grâce

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The expression coup de grâce (pronounced /ˌkuːdə ˈɡrɑːs/; French: [kudəɡʁas], "blow of mercy") means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to killing civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies and with or without the consent of the sufferer. It is often used figuratively to describe the last of a series of events which brings about the end of some entity; for example: "The business had been failing for years; the coup de grâce was the sudden jump in oil prices."

In war times, it means shooting into the cardiac or temporal region of an already shot, but not yet dead person during a military or civilian execution. It can also refer to the beheading that follows a samurai's seppuku.

The French pronunciation of the phrase is [kudə ɡras], but many English speakers pronounce it /ˌkuː deɪ ˈɡrɑː/. Omitting the final "s" is an example of a hyperforeignism: in French, this pronunciation sounds like coup de gras, which means "blow of fat", or cou de gras, which means "neck of fat".

[edit] See also

• Animal euthanasia
• Euthanasia
• Firing squad
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