Jump to content

List of English-language euphemisms for death

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cnwilliams (talk | contribs) at 21:21, 12 October 2023 (v2.05 - Repaired 3 links to disambiguation pages - (You can help) - Eternal, Pass away, Six Feet Under / Fix errors for CW project (Category before last heading)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of euphemisms for death and dying in the English language.

A euphemism is a common word or phrase intended to soften the harshness of a literal meaning. For example, most English speakers would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die," as well as to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context. A euphemism is not to be confused with other figures of speech such as a metaphor, which invokes an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel" ); a simile, which invokes an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); and hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., like "missed by a mile" ). Euphemisms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.

Most English-language idioms for death refer to the process of being buried, sleeping or at rest, or religious ideals of life after death, for example Christian heaven.[clarification needed] A list of euphemisms for death in the English language, in the past tense unless noted with a (Pr) for present:

  • Go west (Pr) [UK]
  • Kicked the bucket
  • Passed away / Passed on / Moved on
  • Pop one's clogs (Pr) [UK]
  • Pushing up daises (Pr)
  • Sleeping with the fishes
  • Croaked
  • Six feet under
  • Joined the church triumphant
  • Taken a dirt nap
  • Gone to heaven / Went to heaven
  • Gone home / Went home
  • Expired
  • Breathed their last [breath]
  • Succumbed
  • Left us / Left this world / Left this mortal coil
  • Lost
  • Met their maker
  • Wasted
  • Checked out
  • various forms of Eternal rest / Everlasting peace
  • Was a goner
  • Came to an end
  • Bit the dust / Returned to dust
  • Annihilated
  • Liquidated
  • Terminated
  • Gave up the ghost
  • Snuffed out
  • Went to a new life
  • In the Great Beyond
  • No longer with us
  • Made the Change
  • On the other side
  • God took them
  • Departed
  • Transcended
  • Bought the farm
  • With the angels / Carried away by the angels
  • Feeling no pain
  • Lost the race
  • Time was up
  • Crashed in
  • Crossed over Jordan
  • Was done in
  • In glory
  • Withered away
  • Gave it up
  • A/The long sleep
  • Heavenly shores
  • Found whatever is next
  • Out of their misery
  • Ended it all
  • Resting in piece
  • Changed form
  • Dropped the body
  • Rode into the sunset
  • That was all they wrote
  • Withdrew to more favorable frontiers

[1]

See also

Further reading


References

  1. ^ "Death - Hamza Yusuf - YouTube [23:28]". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_English-language_euphemisms_for_death&oldid=1179850964"