A Euphemism is a word or phrase which is used in order to make something sound a little better than it really is. We use euphemisms a lot in order to sound polite, soften the blow of very surprising news or sometimes just for the fun of it.

Today we are going to look at one of the words we use euphemisms for the most, Dead. Dead is a very strong and harsh word, so some people do not like it. People don’t like to think that someone is really dead and gone, they want to think that they are just not here anymore but that they are somewhere else still. Some of these are used to make people feel better about the horrible event, some others are more to add some interesting feeling to your language, I’ll try to explain which is which.
Polite:

1. Passed Away/On – Passed away or Passed on are the most polite and kind ways to talk about death. If your family member or someone you loved died this is probably the way you’d want to use when discussing it. it says that they are dead but they are still somewhere, they’ve passed on to another place, people like the idea that when someone dies they are still somewhere.

“I’m sorry to hear your grandma passed away”
“She passed on peacefully in her sleep”

2. In a better place/In heaven – Both of these are similar as it’s just saying, yes they are dead, but they are now somewhere better. Again this is a very polite and kind way of saying Dead which could be used for loved ones and family members.

“Your mom has gone to a better place”
“My brother has gone to heaven”

3. The Late – Obviously if you say someone is late, they are not on time, however if I use the words The late followed by a name, whatever name I say, that person is dead. Usually used for people who were not so close to us but maybe we knew of them, or maybe we were friends of their friends and now we want to discuss them.

“They belonged to the late Elvis Presley” – Elvis is dead.
“Is she the late Mr. Jone’s wife?” – Mr. Jones is dead.

4. Deceased – Deceased is a very formal and cold way of saying dead. Most commonly used by people whose job it is to deal with dead bodies, such as Police or Doctors. They are not suppose to be friendly and kind but also cannot make light of the death so we use Deceased to show respect while also remaining seperate from the sadness of death.

“Are you the husband of the deceased?”
“Look at where the deceased is lying, is that a clue?”

5. Perished – Perished just means to die or expire. Often used when talking about people we don’t know who have died in a violent event such as an earthquake or shooting.

“How many perished in the plane crash?”
“He perished in that car accident last month”

6. Put Down/Away/To Sleep – This is usually only used for animals as it wouldn’t really be polite to refer to humans in this way. However if you have a dog or a cat and it is very old and always in pain due to sickness, many people feel it’s better to kill them than to leave them in pain and suffering. They take them to the Vet and the doctor will gently, using medicine, kill the pet.

“My dog was very old so we put him down”
“Our cat was put to sleep because it was very sick”

Interesting (Not for loved ones):

1. Six Feet Under – To say someone is six feet under is to say they are dead. This is because when you die, usually, one of two things happens, either they cremate you with fire or they bury you in the earth and those who are buried are buried six feet deep to ensure animals wont dig you up and eat your body. This is also the name of a very famous American TV show which I greatly enjoyed watching.

“Where is Jim these days?” “He’s six feet under”

2. Bought The Farm – To buy the farm means to die however its origins are not clear at all, Some say it’s due to farmers who killed themselves during the Great Depression in the USA whose family then used the Life Insurance money to buy the farm, others say it comes from World War II where if a soldier died, his family was given a large sum of money and the fmaily used it to pay off their mortgage, still another theory says it’s from the Airplane battles over Europe in World War II and if a plane crashed into a farm, often the government would have to pay for the damages and that money was used to pay off the mortgage. Whatever it’s origins though, it is used today to mean someone has died.

“Old Mr. Jenkins bought the farm last week”

3. Kicked the Bucket – Another Euphemism which a variety of origin options, the first is from when people commit suicide by hanging they often tie the rope around their neck while standing on a bucket, they then kick the bucket away which leaves them hanging till they die. Another possible explanation is from an animal slaughter house in France where animals were hung on a pulley system called a buquet, which sounds like bucket, and when their throats were cut they often kicked at the buquet to try and get away.

“When I kick the bucket I want it to be while I’m sleeping!”

4. To cash in one’s chips – This Euphemism has a definite origin and that is gambling. When you gamble you play with chips which represent money usually and when you finish your game and want to leave you must go to a checkout counter and cash in your chips, meaning exchange them for real money again. So when you finish playing the game of life, die, you cash in your chips.

“She cashed in her chips last night”

5. To Bite the Dust – To bite the dust also means to die and also has a definite origin, Cowboys. Cowboys were known for dying violently in gun battles and when they did they often fell down and their face would land in the dust, hence they bite the dust.

“He bit the dust in the car crash two weeks ago!”

6. Pushing Up Daisies – When you die, if you are buried, your body goes into the ground and you help the lovely flowers, like a daisy, grow up big and strong so it can be said you are pushing up daisies once you are buried.

“Poor Sally is pushing up daisies now”

7. Sleeping With The Fishes – This came from the Mafia (黑帮) in the west who would sometimes kill those people they didn’t like. Of course after they killed the person they had to find a way to dispose of the dead body so they would often take the body to a large river and tie rocks to the body to make sure it didn’t float and then throw the body into the river where it could be said it was sleeping with the fish.

“I want Frank sleeping with the fish before next week!”

8. Got a One-Way Ticket - If you have a one-way ticket to somewhere it means there is no return so you wont be coming back, just like in death.

“Shes got a one-way ticket to the cemetary I think”

These are just a few of the many Euphemisms we can use for death, if you know of anymore please let me know in the comments below or in the forum!