Don't people die any more?

@indexer (4852)
Leicester, England
January 16, 2019 5:34am CST
Apparently not! It`s just not the done thing - you can`t "die", you have to "pass away". There's nothing new about the term "pass away", which I hate anyway, but what IS new is the abbreviation to "pass", which I find frankly appalling. Apart from anything else, it's so confusing. To me, the verb "pass" means "pass a test" or "get admitted to university". When somebody sends a message saying "Billy passed this morning", do they mean that he is now eligible to drive a car or that he's dead? Presumably this is yet another awful Americanism that has infected the speech of English-speakers on the eastern side of the Pond, and something that we will just have to get used to - to the day we **** !
12 people like this
6 responses
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325594)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Jan 19
It seems our police have been forbidden to use 'die' or even 'passed away'. Mostly it's 'expired'.
5 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
16 Jan 19
That sounds like they are past their 'use by' date! But I guess they are !!
3 people like this
Boingboing
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
16 Jan 19
That makes them sound like a library book loan.
3 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325594)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Jan 19
@Fleura @boiboing The other word they used that I couldn't think of till now is 'deceased' as in 'the victim was found to be deceased'. They must train them not to use 'die'.
4 people like this
Boingboing
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
16 Jan 19
And of course in quiz shows people frequently 'pass' on a question or the 'pass' on dessert at dinner. I'm with you on straight talking. People die - let's drop the euphemisms. If one more person tells me their dog has 'crossed the rainbow bridge' I'm probably going to laugh out loud at a very inappropriate time.
3 people like this
Boingboing
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
16 Jan 19
@Fleura I knew the Rainbow Bridge in Oxford's South Parks.
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
16 Jan 19
@boiboing That's the one : )
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
16 Jan 19
There actually is a Rainbow Bridge not too far from here so I'd probably ask whether they had a nice walk.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
16 Jan 19
The other thing that I'm findiing rather irritating is that nothing ever happens around the world any more, it's always across the world. Once you start noticing this you'll hear it everywhere. Have the Flat Earthers finally won?
1 person likes this
ultraman cosmos
@id_peace (14005)
• Singapore
16 Jan 19
As long as I am alive, the flat earthers will be banish to the underground.
1 person likes this
Boingboing
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
16 Jan 19
Can I throw in my aversion to 'completely unique' and other modifications of uniqueness. Let's face it - something can't be partially unique, can it?
3 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
16 Jan 19
@boiboing Oh yes, aargh! It's either unique or it isn't.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
16 Jan 19
I hate that too. Someone says that 'so-and-so has passed' and the first inclination is to say 'Congratulations!' I don't know where it has come from, when I first became aware of it it was in the context of spiritualism, that a person has passed to the other side.
1 person likes this
PLETHOS
@Plethos (13560)
• United States
16 Jan 19
i once told a friend that a female friend we both knew had "crossed the rainbow bridge" his reply, "well, she was a bit of a b**ch." i almost passed out from LMAO ! when i tell others the story, only pet owners get the reference.
1 person likes this
Courage7
@Courage7 (19633)
• United States
16 Jan 19
I get that John. I hate it too. Such foolish talk indeed.