Dead & Buried

213 Euphemisms for Death and Dying

Why would somebody do this? Why would I do this? Some people say that I have a morbid fascination with death, or that I am a sick person. They are probably right. Whenever I see a photo of a corpse (I love forensics) I always want to know how the person died, what happened to them... How does someone go from being a beautiful living creature to a twisted hunk of cold meat? A certain compassion is stirred within me... I compiled this list of euphemisms as part of a course on the sociology of dying and death. I know there are tons more out there... If you have one that you think is interesting, please send it to me, and I'll add it to the list and give credit where credit is due.

a-b (go to/be in)Abraham's bosom an awfully big adventure - J.M Barrie, Peter Pan (Ceiridwen's favourite!) at the end of one's rope answer the last call awake to life immortal basting the formaldehyde turkey - chefs' euphemism (the) big jump - cowboy slang (was) beamed up - Star Trek reference (the) big sleep bite it bite the big one bite the biscuit bite the dust bless the world with one's heels - hanging reference (the) bosom of the Father and his God - Thomas Gray bought a pine condo bought the disk farm - computer geek euphemism bought his lunch buy the box - coffin breathe one's last buy the farm c-d cached in his chips - computer geek euphemism cashed in cash in your chips - another reference to viewing life as a loan checked out cash out climb the Golden Stair

coiled up his ropes collapsed his/her outline - specific to technical writers condition non-conducive to life - terminally ill cooking for the Kennedys - chefs' euphemism croaked crossing the bar - Tennyson crossing the river cross on the Stygian ferry cross the Great Divide (the) crown of life - Edward Young curtains - theatre reference dance on air - hanging dangle in the sheriff's picture frame - hanging deanimate debt we all must pay - Euripides deleted from the BOM - specific to technical writers disassemble - Short Circuit (late 80's movie) disincorporate - martian suicide, in Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" donating the liver pat - chefs' euphemism done like dinner (the) downward path - Horace (the) dread abode - Thomas Gray (that) dreamless sleep - Byron e-f (the) empty vessel end of the line (the) eternal yawn exported to a flat file - computer geek euphemism face-planting the meringue (???) - chefs' euphemism fade away feed the fishes - returning to nature (that) fell sergeant - personification of Death by Shakespeare fettucine al dead-o - chefs' euphemism filleting the soul - chefs' euphemism flatline formatted with black borders - specific to technical writers for whom the bell tolls - A reference to a prose work by John Donne (1573-1631) entitled 'Meditation 17' "...therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." ...Thanks Julie! freeing the spirit g-h (be) gathered to one's fathers gate of life - St. Bernard get your halo

gibbed - Dying in an explosive manner in video games like Quake... you leave giblets, or "gibs" for short, laying around give an obolus to Charon give up the ghost go for a burton - British go home feet first go home in a box - military, esp. during WW2 goin' to a dance pawty wit' Gawd! going into the fertilizer business gone to the big glass house in the sky - computer geek euphemism go the way of all earth - Biblical go the way of all flesh go to a necktie party - hanging go to a necktie social - hanging go to meet one's maker go to one's just reward go to one's last home go to one's last account go to one's rest go to the happy hunting ground go to the last roundup - cowboy expression go west - The sun setting in the west was tied to death in some cultures (esp. Egyptian). Also a pioneer expression. (that) grim ferryman - personification of Death by Shakespeare (the) great leveller had his/her 80-column card punched - computer geek euphemism (the) Hamlet sleep - Thomas Gray hand in one's chips hang up your tack - cowboy expression has reservations at the Chateau Eternity - chefs' euphemism Hell's grim tyrant - personification of Death by Pope his number's up i-j immortally challenged (the/th') inevitable hour - Thomas Gray information superhighway roadkill - computer geek euphemism inspired a new warning message - specific to technical writers in the sweet hereafter it's Taps - military join one's ancestors join the angels join the majority - Oddly enough, this isn't accurate anymore... there are more people living now than have ever lived. (the) journey's end - Shakespeare Just Add Maggots - chefs' euphemism

k-l kick the bit bucket - computer geek euphemism kick the bucket - hanging kick the can - hanging kicked the oxygen habit kind Nature's signal of retreat - Samuel Johnson (the) king of terrors - Biblical personification of death kiss the dust kneel at the big gates - Catholic reference to the gates of Heaven (get) knocked off - gangster speak (the) latter end - Biblical launched into eternity left the building "a little folding of the hands to sleep" - Biblical (a) little sleep (a) little slumber living-challenged living-impaired lost in translation - specific to technical writers m-n mailed in his/her warranty card - specific to technical writers marinating in soil and worms - chefs' euphemism meat meet one's maker meet the reaper moved into upper management - specific to technical writers negative patient care outcome - so very PC never-ending trip (the) Notorious D.O.A. - became a joke after the Notorious B.I.G.'s death o-p off the record on one's last legs - dying on the Hell Express/express elevator to Hell on the road to nowhere (the) pale priest of the mute people - personification of Death by R. Browning pass over Jordan - Biblical passed on (get) pasted - refers to a violent death pay one's debt to nature - many cultures see life as a loan pay the piper peasant under grass - chefs' euphemism peg out - cribbage reference

permanently out of print - specific to technical writerspermasleep picking up your harp pop off the hooks - somewhat irreverent allusion to the Crucifixion and denailing/taking down of Jesus Christ's body after his death printed white on white - specific to technical writers promoted to Subterranean Truffle Inspector - chefs' euphemism pull the plug - euthanasia pushing up daisies pushin' up parsley - chefs' euphemism put in the crisper - chefs' euphemism put on immortality r-s remaindered - specific to technical writers reformatted by God - computer geek euphemism retroactive abortion ride the lightning - Get executed in the electric chair rung down the curtain and joined the Choir Invisible! (the) seamouth of mortality - Robinson Jeffers sampling the French Onion Soup with a salmonella spoon (???) - chefs' euphemism sent to the dirt archives - computer geek euphemism shed the mortal coil shit the bed shuffle off this mortal coil - Shakespeare singing with the angels six feet under sleep with the fishes - gangster speak (the) sleeping partner of life - Horace Stern sleeping with the quiches - chefs' euphemism slip one's cable slowly cooling to room temperature - chefs' euphemism (get) smeared - refers to a violent death snuff it sowing the Elysian Fields - Greek reference to the resting place of heroes (get) sporked off - Kind of an onomatopoeia. Spork! step onto one's last bus street pizza - car accident victims struck out by the Big Blue Pencil - specific to technical writers sun one's moccasins t-u-v-w take a dirt nap take an earth bath taken out of production - computer geek euphemism take the last count "...that fell arrest which summons the all without bail" - Shakespeare

that good night - "Do not go gentle into that good night", Sir Dylan Thomas (get) toasted toes up - there's a visual that goes with it, you have to put your arms out stiffly at a 45 degree angle, kind of like a two-armed Nazi salute toss in one's alley - Australian. Reference to marbles. tribute due unto nature - Laurence Stern turning up daisies turn one's face to the wall - The final gesture of acceptance. "He turned his face to the wall / And prayed unto the Lord." 2 Kings 22:2 turn up one's toes (the) undiscovered country - Hamlet visiting Davy Jones' locker walked the plank wear a glass necklace - An old reference to car accidents, in which the victim's head would go through the windshield. wearing a columbian necktie - Get your throat cut & tongue pulled through. Yum. wearing cement overshoes - gangster execution method wearing concrete galoshes - gangster execution method wearing concrete shoes - gangster execution method went on-line - specific to technical writers (get) whacked - gangster speak widowed and orphaned - specific to technical writers worm food