Damascus University Journal, Vol.25 No.

1+2, 2009

Salma Haddad

Euphemising Death

Prof. Dr. Salma Haddad*

Abstract
The current research studies death from a euphemistic point of view.
It reviews Pound s approach to euphemistic death (1936) and
recommends classifying euphemistic substitutes for death into 16
categories in English and 13 categories in Arabic.
The euphemistic strategies adopted in two death notices (one British,
one Syrian) are thoroughly examined for the purposes of comparison. The
research proves that death is handled with care in both the Syrian and
British texts, but the Syrian text tends to be slightly more careful in
approaching it. Unlike the British death notice, the Syrian death notice
does not include any instance of dysphemism. It is argued that the
euphemistic strategies adopted in the two texts are not identical.

Department of English - Faculty of Arts & Human Sciences - Damascus University

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Euphemising Death

1. Introduction
There are times and places where a spade cannot be called a spade
(Epstein 1985). In such cases, the alternative would be a euphemistic
expression. Euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive
expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant
(Merriam Webster s Collegiate Dictionary 1997). The main purpose
behind using euphemistic expressions is presenting a situation, a person
or an object in a more agreeable, more reassuring or politer light than
would be afforded by the hard glare of reality or by crude, direct
definition. (Cobb 1985:72). It is through euphemism that speakers
disguise an unpleasant truth, veil an offence, or palliate indecency
(Kany 1960:V, in Trinch 2001:571).
Burchfield (1985:29) maintains that A language without
euphemisms would be a defective instrument of communication.
However, euphemism is sometimes seen as a sign of the user s weakness.
Bertram (1998), for example, argues that euphemisms are entertaining
because they show how weak people are when they design words and
expressions to avoid being direct or obvious. It is through euphemism
that people avoid producing negative reactions to the words they use
(Bertram 1998).
According to Brown (1986), euphemisms are abundantly used in
American culture where certain thoughts are dealt with as taboo or certain
words have some undesirable connotations. Death, drunkenness,
pregnancy, and lower body parts are among the most well-known and
widely used categories of euphemism (Bertram 1998). Sexuality, physical
and mental illnesses, diseases, personal finances, criminality, etc. are also
common taboo topics in different cultures (Trinch 2001). For example,
the subject of sex is best handled by silence, which is considered the
ultimate euphemism (Epstein 1985:56). Reference works on euphemism
cite intimacy as a euphemism for sexual intercourse, pass away for die,
underprivileged for poor
(Burchfield 1985:13), funeral directors for
undertakers, and mentally handicapped or educationally subnormal for
backward children (Burchfield 1985).

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Salma Haddad

Trinch (2001) argues that most scholars (e.g. Kany 1960, Allan &
Burridge 1991) agree that language users resort to euphemisms to avoid
taboo terms that might cause distress both for themselves and the
receivers. However, euphemistic substitutes are not only used because
they are softer and more delicate terms, but also because they can be
ambiguous (Trinch 2001). According to Trinch (2001), ambiguity is
considered by Brown and Levinson (1987) and Lakoff (1974) as a
politeness strategy adopted by a language user to avoid loss of face, or to
protect both speakers and interlocutors from an interpretation of an
utterance that might be offensive.
Euphemisms can be used in any field, including that of advertising.
May (1985:122) argues that
Exaggeration in advertising is
commonplace: it is, one might say, the soil in which the fine flower of
euphemism grows.

2. Aim of Study
The aim of the current research is twofold:
1) Review Pound s approach to euphemistic death (1936), and
suggest a more detailed approach through classifying
euphemistic substitutes for death into 16 categories in English
and 13 categories in Arabic.
2) Carry out a detailed comparative study between two death
notices (one Syrian, one British) with the aim of finding
answers to the following questions:
a) Does the British text adopt the same euphemistic strategies
adopted in the Syrian text?
b) Is the British text less/more careful in approaching death than
the Syrian text?

3. Euphemising Death
In his poem Churchyards (quoted in Burchfield 1985:29), Sir John
Betjeman reminds people that death is still considered a primary source
of euphemisms (Burchfield 1985):

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Euphemising Death

Oh why do people waste their breath

Inventing dainty names for death?
On the old tombstones of the past
We do not read at peace at last
But simply died or plain departed
The subject of death is dealt with as taboo. This situation
contributes to the difficulties many have in accepting and coping with the
death of a loved one, impeding the process of grief and bereavement.
Grollman (1974) talks about death being disguised through euphemistic
language. People do not simply die; they pass away move on , go to
a better place . Many people live by the myth that if death is not talked
about, it will pass without the pain associated with the loss of a loved
one. (Zilberfein 1999:69)

3.1. Pound s Approach to Euphemistic Death

Pound (1936:195) argues that The superstition that to name a thing
is to gain power over it seems to receive little credence when death and
its trappings are concerned. It appears, in fact, that one of mankind s
gravest problems is to avoid a straightforward mention of dying or burial.
Every ingenuity is practiced to find words which will shroud the idea of
death.
He (Ibid) divides euphemistic terms for dying, death and burial into
six sections with a few subdivisions:
1) Sentimental and poetic expressions where Pound (1936:196) provides
a list of
the various personifications of death, metaphors of light
and darkness, sleep and rest, and the familiar figures of departure,
setting out, or return, in which death becomes a journey . Under this
section come
a) general literary and figurative expressions (the lamp of life
flickered out, the dews of death were upon him, laid down his
burden, he has left us, etc.), b) metaphors of sleep and rest (gone
to enduring sleep, gone to his last sleep, laid to rest, etc.), and

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Salma Haddad

c) metaphors of departure, setting out, and return (passed away,

passed within the pearly gates, gone forward, gone beyond the
horizon, etc.).
2) Flippant and slang expressions (ran down, turned up his toes, placed
on the shelf, etc.).
3) Terms from work and recreation divided into two subdivisions:
a) metaphors from occupations, professions, and trades (gave up the
ship, fed the fishes, dropped off the hooks, stopped a shrapnel,
etc.), and
b) metaphors from sports and recreations (kicked off, handed in his
chips, his number was up, played his last card, etc.),
4) Terms for hanging, lynching, and electrocution (go up a tree, crack the
neck, give the rope, etc.).
5) Miscellaneous euphemisms (the deceased, last home, long home, etc.).
6) Predictions of death (your number is up, you are under sailing orders,
you have no more chance than a rabbit, etc.)

3.2. Euphemising Death in English

In the following, euphemistic death is divided into sixteen categories
where death is seen from different perspectives (a problem-solving event,
a religious event, a movement to an unspecified destination, a movement
to a specified destination, etc.). No claim is made that the following is a
full list, although it includes the most commonly-used euphemistic
substitutes for death.
All examples are collected from the NTC s Dictionary of
Euphemisms, and the Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms. For purposes of
brevity, the two dictionaries are respectively referred to as NTC and Oxf.
Only where deemed necessary, are explanations of euphemistic terms
provided.
It is important to mention at this early stage that some euphemistic
expressions come under more than one category. Heavenly rest, for
example, comes under euphemising death through approaching it as a

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problem-solving event and euphemising death through in/direct reference

to religion.
1. Euphemising death through approaching it as a problem-solving event:
In the following euphemistic list, life is in/directly referred to as
tiresome and full of burdens, limitations, hurdles, etc. It is in death that
people find rest, peace, release, etc.: at rest Oxf , at peace Oxf , come to
your resting place Oxf, freed from earthly limitations Oxf, get away
Oxf, go to our rest Oxf, jump the last hurdle Oxf, laid to rest Oxf, last
resting place Oxf, lay down your burden Oxf, peace at last Oxf, put to
rest Oxf, release Oxf, relieve of your sufferings Oxf, take leave of life
Oxf, his troubles in this world are over Oxf, eternal rest Oxf, heavenly
rest NTC, happy release (particularly after a painful illness) NTC,
repose NTC, etc.
2. Euphemising death through indicating that life is good but death is
better: better country Oxf, better state Oxf, better world Oxf, exchange
this life for a better Oxf, go to a better place Oxf, happier seat Oxf, take
refuge in a better world Oxf, etc.
3. Euphemising death through in/direct reference to religion: eternal life
Oxf, in eternity Oxf, everlasting life Oxf, eternal rest NTC, meet your
Maker Oxf, heavenly rest NTC, the call Oxf, called away Oxf, called
home Oxf, called to higher service Oxf, gathered to God Oxf, gathered
to Jesus Oxf, go to heaven Oxf, promoted to Glory Oxf, sent to heaven
Oxf, sent to the skies Oxf, upstairs (where heaven is to be found) Oxf, at
the last day (the Day of Judgement) Oxf, church triumphant Oxf, come
again Oxf, come back Oxf, face your Maker Oxf, give up the ghost (the
ghost is the spirit which you surrender to heaven) Oxf, the hereafter
Oxf, in heaven Oxf, in the arms of Jesus Oxf, Lord sends for you Oxf,
Lord has you Oxf, stand before your Maker Oxf, take home (home is
heaven) Oxf, God takes x Oxf, win home Oxf, win your way Oxf, win
to rest Oxf, with your Maker Oxf, with God Oxf, with Jesus Oxf, with
the Lord Oxf, answer the final summons NTC, asleep in Jesus NTC,
asleep in the Lord NTC, etc.
4. Euphemising death through in/direct expression of emotions: In the
following, the euphemistic substitute echoes the in/direct presence of

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Salma Haddad

the living person(s) (e.g. with us no more), and/or her/his in/direct

attitude (e.g. the loved one):
kiss off (the gesture of parting) Oxf, separation Oxf, with us no more Oxf,
no longer with us Oxf, lose someone NTC, loss Oxf, snatched from us
Oxf, snatched away Oxf, the loved one NTC, etc.
5. Euphemising death through imageries taken from nature (flowers,
grass, etc.): count the daisies Oxf, cut off (always of premature or
untimely death, with imagery from the gathering of a flower in bloom)
Oxf, plucked from us (floral imagery) Oxf, popping up the daisies (the
corpse is supposed to provide sustenance for the common churchyard
wild flower) Oxf, push up the daisies Oxf, push up the weeds (referring
to the supposed nourishment of the common churchyard flower) Oxf,
under the daisies Oxf, under the grass Oxf, etc.
6. Euphemising death through imageries taken from animals (pigs, birds,
etc.): Kick (probably from the involuntary spasm of a slaughtered
animal) Oxf, kick in (same previous imagery) Oxf, kick off (same
previous imagery) Oxf, kick it (same previous imagery) Oxf, kick up
(same previous imagery) Oxf, kick the bucket (supposed to come from
the bucket or beam to which a Norfolk pig was tied to facilitate the
slitting of its throat and which it kicked in its death throes) Oxf, swing
off (probably avian imagery) Oxf, hop off (avian imagery) Oxf, tip off
(avian imagery) Oxf, fall off the perch (avian imagery) Oxf, keel over
(the figurative fall of a bird from its perch) Oxf, etc.
7. Euphemising death through giving a physical description of death or
the dead: breathe one s last Oxf, bring your heart to its final pause Oxf,
close your eyes Oxf, cold Oxf, cool Oxf, croak Oxf, dissolution Oxf,
take a long deep sniff Oxf, inoperative NTC, heels foremost Oxf, turn
up your toes Oxf, turn your face to the wall Oxf, curl up one s toes
NTC, etc.
8. Euphemising death through medical jargon: adverse event Oxf, cardiac
arrest Oxf, cardiac incident Oxf, check out Oxf, lose the vital signs Oxf,
negative patient care outcome Oxf, medical examiner (a person who
examines dead bodies) NTC, terminal care (care of the dying) NTC,
inoperative NTC, etc.

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9. Euphemising death through euphemising burials, funerals, corpses,

coffins, graves, arrangements, persons involved, flowers, death
announcements, etc.: go into the ground Oxf, go under Oxf, ground Oxf,
in the churchyard Oxf, in the soil Oxf, lie with Oxf, six feet of earth Oxf,
six feet underground Oxf, under the daisies Oxf, under the sod Oxf,
under the grass Oxf, underground Oxf, alternative container (a box or
bag used for burial) NTC, bereavement counsellor (an undertaker) NTC,
casket (coffin) NTC, cemetery NTC, churchyard NTC, committal (the
burial) NTC, disinter someone (remove body from grave) NTC, estate
(a grave plot) NTC, funeral director (undertaker) NTC, funeral service
practitioner (undertaker) NTC, funeral service professional (undertaker)
NTC, interment (burial) NTC, inter someone NTC, lay someone to rest
NTC, leave-taking (burial) NTC, make the arrangements (to arrange a
funeral) NTC, marker (gravestone) NTC, memorial (having to do with
death or burial) NTC, memorial park (graveyard) NTC, memorial
service (funeral service where the dead body is not present) NTC,
image/memory picture (the appearance of a dead person in his or her
coffin) NTC, monument (gravestone) NTC, mortician (a person who
prepares a dead body for burial or cremation) NTC, mortuary (a place
where dead bodies are prepared for burial or cremation) NTC,
obsequies (funeral) NTC, pay one s last respects NTC, perpetual care
(payment for the care of a grave) NTC, pre-need (of a funeral, coffin, or
grave plot paid for in advance) NTC, pre-planning/prearrangement/prefunding (the act of paying for a funeral in advance) NTC, professional
car/funeral coach (a car for carrying a dead body in a coffin) NTC,
slumber room (a room in which dead bodies are prepared for burial)
NTC, space (a grave) NTC, viewing room (a room in which a dead
body is viewed) NTC, visitation (a gathering of mourners to view a
dead body) NTC, the remains Oxf, wooden box Oxf, body NTC, floral
tribute NTC, obituary NTC, etc.
10. Euphemising death through describing it as a movement to a specified
destination: the other side Oxf, pass into the next world Oxf, the
undiscovered country Oxf, the world to come NTC, land of no return
NTC, etc.
11. Euphemising death through describing it as a movement to an
unspecified destination: check out Oxf, depart this life Oxf, the departed

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Salma Haddad

Oxf, departure Oxf, go NTC, go away Oxf, go out Oxf, goner Oxf, leave
Oxf, leave town Oxf, leave the land of the living Oxf, move on Oxf, on
your way out Oxf, pass Oxf, pass away Oxf, passing Oxf, pop off Oxf,
quit Oxf, removed Oxf, slip Oxf, slip away Oxf, step away Oxf, step off
Oxf, take off Oxf, taken Oxf, taking Oxf, depart this life NTC, gone
NTC, pass off the earth Oxf, leave the building Oxf, last journey Oxf,
last voyage Oxf, quit the scene Oxf, away Oxf, etc.
12. Euphemising death through describing it as a temporary event: drop
off Oxf, fall asleep NTC, the night (the common association with
darkness and sleep) Oxf, repose (the common imagery of the corpse
being asleep) Oxf, a reposing room (a morgue) Oxf, sleep Oxf, slumber
(the common imagery of sleep) Oxf, asleep in Jesus NTC, asleep in the
Lord NTC, etc.
13. Euphemising death through partially evading the word death: the big
D Oxf, etc.
14. Euphemising death through euphemising the dead: the late Oxf, the
decedent NTC, the loved one NTC, the departed Oxf, great majority (the
dead) Oxf, the deceased, etc.
15. Euphemising death through focusing on life rather than death:
surviving spouse (a person who outlives his or her wife or husband.
The term replaces widow/widower) NTC, life insurance (insurance paid
when you die) NTC, have one s name inscribed in the book of life (to
die) NTC, etc.
16. Miscellaneous ways of euphemising death: cash in your checks (to
die: gambling imagery) Oxf, cash in your chips (to die: gambling
imagery) Oxf, cease to be Oxf, chuck seven (to die: dice imagery) Oxf,
cough (to die) Oxf, curtains (death: stage imagery) Oxf, drop in your
tracks (to die suddenly: racing imagery) Oxf, expire Oxf, fall out (to
die: military imagery) Oxf, finished Oxf, follow (to die after another
person) Oxf, give up the spoon Oxf, the great certainty (death) Oxf, the
great change (death) Oxf, the great leveller (death) Oxf, the great out
(death) Oxf, the great perhaps (death) Oxf, the great secret (death) Oxf,
the Grim Reaper (death) Oxf, had it Oxf, hand in your dinner pail (to
die: imagery of making no more demand on terrestrial resources) Oxf,
hang up your hat (to die) Oxf, hang up your mug (to die) Oxf, hang up

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your spoon (to die) Oxf, jack it in (to die) Oxf, join x Oxf, hadn t made
it Oxf, no more Oxf, pack it in (to die) Oxf, pop your clogs (to die) Oxf,
put in your ticket (to die: a ship imagery) Oxf, quietus (death) Oxf, ring
eight bells (to die) Oxf, shuffle off this mortal coil (to die) Oxf, snuff it
(to die) Oxf, strike out (to die: a baseball imagery) Oxf, succumb (to
die) Oxf, written out of the script (dead: employment imagery) Oxf,
demise (death) NTC, it is all up with someone (someone is about to die)
NTC, it is all over with someone (someone is about to die) NTC, lay
down one s life for something NTC, moribund NTC, mortality NTC, not
doing well (dying) NTC, perish NTC, predecease someone NTC, the
ultimate truth/reality (death) NTC, etc.

3.3. Euphemising Death in Arabic

In the following, Arabic euphemistic substitutes for death fall into 13
categories. While most of them appear in their classical Arabic forms,
some are referred to as ( . ), i.e.
(Syrian vernacular). Again,
no claim is made that the following is a full list of euphemistic substitutes
for death in Arabic.
As mentioned earlier in 3.2., some euphemistic expressions come
under more than one category.
, for example, occurs under
euphemising death through in/direct expression of emotions and
euphemising death through euphemising the dead.
1. Euphemising death through approaching it as a problem-solving event:

)
( . )

( . )

2. Euphemising death through in/direct reference to religion:

(Kuwaider 2000)
( . )

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Damascus University Journal, Vol.25 No.1+2, 2009

( . )

( . )
.
3. Euphemising death through in/direct expression of emotions:
In the following, the euphemistic substitute echoes the in/direct
presence of the living person(s) (e.g.

), and/or her/his in/direct

attitude (e.g.
).
is considered a very strong and emotive word in
the Arabic language since it refers to the fact that the deceased will be
greatly missed and death will not be easily accepted (Haddad 2001:42).

( . )

( . )
.

( . )

4. Euphemising death through giving a description of death or the dead:

)
.

( . )

( . )

5. Euphemising death through medical jargon:

)
.

6. Euphemising death through euphemising burials, funerals, corpses,

coffins, graves, arrangements, flowers, death announcements, etc.:

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Euphemising Death

) ( . )
(

(
.

( . )

7. Euphemising death through describing it as a movement to a specified

destination:

.
8. Euphemising death through describing it as a movement to an
unspecified destination:

( . )

( . )
( . )

( . )
.

9. Euphemising death through euphemising the dead:

.
1o. Euphemising death through focusing on life rather than death:

(
.

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Damascus University Journal, Vol.25 No.1+2, 2009

11. Euphemising death through full/partial mitigation clichs:

Arabs use certain social clichs to mitigate death and absorb the
accompanying tension (e.g.

( . )). Such clichs are particularly used in the context of predicting

death. Partial mitigation occurs when death is explicitly referred to (e.g.
). However, full mitigation occurs when death is
implicitly referred to (e.g.

).

12. Euphemising death through imageries taken from nature:

)( . )
.

( . )

13. Miscellaneous ways of euphemising death:

( . )
.

( . )

( . )

( . )

4. Death in Death Notices

In the following, euphemistic death is studied in the death notice, the
arena where death is most frequently talked about. A detailed comparison
is made between the uses of euphemism in two death notices (one British,
one Syrian).

4.1. Euphemism in a British Death Notice

Death Notices
Mckie. Margaret, peacefully at home, beloved wife of the late
Professor Robert Mckie and mother of David and Helen. Funeral service

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Euphemising Death

at St Nicholas Church, Elmdon at 2pm on 2nd April. Flowers and

donations, for St Nicholas Church (The Guardian, March 29, 2001)
(Underlining added throughout)
In the above text, dysphemism appears clearly in the title where
death is directly and straightforwardly named (Death Notices). However,
euphemistic strategies are abundantly used:
1) In peacefully at home, which should have been died/passed
away/etc. peacefully at home, death and its euphemistic
substitutes are completely evaded. This can be considered the
highest level of evasion, or the ultimate euphemism according
to Epstein (1985:56). The word peacefully provides the basis for
a bright side sequence (Holt 1993:202), and, hence, enhances
the euphemistic approach to death. It is important to mention here
that in fewer cases, the verb passed away is used in British death
notices. In far fewer cases, dysphemism is adopted through the
verb died.
2) In wife, euphemism is twofold: death is euphemised through (1)
focusing on life rather than death (wife replaces widow), and (2)
avoiding referring to her as a dead person.
3) In the late, death is euphemised through euphemising the dead.
4) In flowers and donations, death is euphemised through means of
generalization. The occasion of flowers (funeral flowers,
graveyard flowers, etc.) and donations (e.g. death donations, etc.)
is left unspecified.

4.2. Euphemism in a Syrian Death Notice

...

...

...
.

...

...
(2006

.
).

29

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Damascus University Journal, Vol.25 No.1+2, 2009

(Underlining added throughout)

1) In the above text, death is avoided right from the beginning.
Unlike the above-examined British death notice which starts with
death notices as a title, the present text avoids the direct mention
of death, starting instead with (

).

2) In
, death is euphemised through euphemising the dead and
through the indirect expression of emotions.
3) In
as (

, death is euphemised through avoiding expressions such

).

4) In (
), death is euphemised through euphemising the dead
and through indirect reference to religion.
5) In (

), euphemism is twofold: death is euphemised through

(1) focusing on life rather than death (

replaces
(2) avoiding referring to her as a dead person.

), and

6) In (
), death is euphemised through avoiding the verb (
),
which is considered a harsh and emotive word in Arabic (Haddad
2001)
7) In (
), death is euphemised through euphemising burial
expressions. This shows how harsh and unmitigated language
such as ( ) or ( ) is systematically avoided in the Syrian
death notice (Haddad 2001).
8) In (
), death is euphemised through euphemising
corpse expressions, and through indirect reference to religion.
9) In (
), death is euphemised though focusing
on life rather than death. Euphemism is achieved, in an implicit and
probably complicated manner, through a social clich that focuses

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on life. In other words, if (

) refers to (

), (

) is a

euphemistic substitute for (

). This means that the above clich
is a prayer to be protected from early death.

5. Conclusion
Having carried out the above detailed examination of the two death
notices, the researcher finds out that:
(1) Dysphemism occurs in the British but not in the Syrian death
notice. In the latter, death is avoided right from the very
beginning (i.e. the title).
(2) The ultimate euphemism occurs only in the British death notice.
(3) Euphemizing death through focusing on life rather than death and
through avoiding referring to the person concerned as dead
occurs in both texts.
(4) Euphemizing death through euphemizing the dead is a
euphemistic strategy adopted in both death notices.
(5) Euphemizing death through euphemizing burial occurs in the
Syrian death notice.
(6) Euphemizing death through euphemizing the corpse occurs only
in the Syrian text.
(7) Euphemizing death through means of generalization occurs only
in the British death notice.
(8) Euphemizing death through social clichs occurs only in the
Syrian death notice.
The above argument indicates that both the Syrian and British
texts handle death with care. The Syrian text, however, tends to be
slightly more careful in approaching it since it does not include any
direct reference to death. The euphemistic strategies adopted in the
two texts are not identical. This suggests that, more often than not,
different cultures use different euphemistic strategies.

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Salma Haddad

I believe that further research in cultures other than the Syrian

and the British is required. Linguists need to thoroughly investigate
the contrastive scope in the area of euphemisms in general and
euphemistic death in particular. It would be useful to know how far
death is avoided in different cultures and what euphemistic strategies
are adopted.

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