Dead, & euphemisms

[Georgyporky]

Why do people say "passed away" ? And other euphemisms ?

My late husband didn't pass anywhere - apart from places on a Monopoly board.

He died. That's it. End of.

I corrected the undertakers when they used that phrase.

The Humanist officiant used the right word without having to be told.

Sometimes people cant face saying their loved ones name and dead in the same sentence. When my dad died one friend was angry at me that i hadn't told her. But i realised i just could say my dad died. Maybe saying passed away is easier to handle in the moment.
I guess we're all different.

And im sorry for your loss@Georgyporky

I don’t mind “passed away” too much but “passed” annoys me! It’s an American import that sounds weird to me. I honestly don’t see anything wrong with saying that the person died. It’s not a nasty or dirty word.

Each to their own, what works for you doesn't work for another. Use your own languages for the death of those close to you and respect the language others use in respect of their own.

My husband also died, if someone else's passed away it doesn't change the fact nor impact.

Yes I agree.

Just "Passed' could mean anything and lots of it not very edifying - passed out, passed water etc... Passed away is OK. But died seems perfectly fine.

I agree, people die. Although writing a sympathy card this week I couldn’t bring myself to write ‘so sorry to hear that your father died’ and wrote ‘passed away’ instead. I don’t know why because I totally agree with you

Sorry for your sad loss OP. I think each individual is entitled to use whatever terminology they prefer, feel comfortable with or can bear to say when they are struggling with grief. It is so gut wrenchingly hard that I don't think there is a need to be critical about it when it comes to what another person feels is appropriate and I'm sure professionals in the industry of death are perfectly happy to take polite requests to use whatever a person feels they need.

There is no 'right' or 'wrong' here, it's subjective and not really about anything other than that IMO.

I have recently suffered a very painful loss and struggled with saying the person had died in the first instance. I obviously knew that had indeed died, but appreciated those around me allowing me the space to use whatever terminology I liked and treading softly themselves for the avoidance of doubt.

I was with my Dad when he died and what I watched was him passing away as he slowly faded.

I agree OP and it seems a relatively recent development.

'Passing' also suggests moving across to 'Another plain' or similar, which I for one don't believe in.

Death is hard, but pussy- footing around it makes no sense to me.

That said each to,their own, and I'll respect whatever phrase people want to use.

But your OP says “late” instead of “dead”. That’s also a euphemism.

I think some people prefer euphemisms and some don’t and let’s not police it.

Couldn't agree more. My mum died 25 years ago. I never, ever say that I 'lost' my mum since, to me, that suggests carelessness.
I see that the headline on the BBC News page is 'Queen Elizabeth II has died'

Saying death & died gets easier the more you use it.

'Fell asleep' is the worse one but there are loads of other weird ways to say it.

Like popped their clogs - what's that all about?

Because sometimes it's just too painful to say died.

I'm not sure why you can't understand that.

I think bereaved people should be able to describe death any way they want. I personally think passed away is fine and everyone knows what you mean.

Each to their own. You like to use died, some people don't. It's nothing to do with anyone else what people choose to say about death.

As part of my old job I got sent on bereavement courses and it’s been rammed into me to say ‘died’.

Anything else sounds odd.

I have a relative who's child died. She has never been able to say her child is dead. Shall I tell her she is doing grief wrong?

I worked at a Hospice and did not get any memos telling me how to refer to death.

I think passed away is better than passed but there are some awful phrases around.
Crossed the rainbow bridge 😱gone to sleep.
I use died in everyday speech. With a newly bereaved person I would say died unless I had some inclination that they minded.

I think it's animals that go over the rainbow bridge.

I'd take my lead from the bereaved person. It's not up to me to police how they choose to express themselves.

I've made it quite clear that I'm not to be referred to as "passed away". Died and dead for me thank you very much!

i have a friend who’s baby was sadly stillborn and she says that although it was obviously horrendous to hear, she was glad the doctor looked her in the eye and said ‘I’m sorry to tell you that your baby has died’ because she felt that it made her realise the finality of it and that there was absolutely no hope

You see 'unalive' and worse still 'unalived' horrible.

i think that trend started on TikTok to get around the auto censors picking up on ‘dead’ or ‘death’