Why don't people say "died" anymore?

[swede]

Dear Abby,

Sorry to hear that you died. I mean..."passed".

It seems to me that people of my generation simply used the word "died" when speaking of mortal demise.

Now everybody seems to stubbornly say "passed" as the the new active verb for ceasing to be alive. I'm so edgy and filled with distrust these days that the word seems less a euphemism to me than a liberal dodge of some sort.

Of all the things that are bad about death I never thought the verb itself was part of the problem.

Every time I hear that new spongy non-committal word a little part of me passes.

Sign me,

Shorter of breath and one day closer to death in Wisconsin

[Joemailman]

Last week I walked into the men's room of a local establishment and said "Damn! Did something die in here?"

[MJZiggy]

Dear Abby,

Sorry to hear that you died. I mean..."passed".

It seems to me that people of my generation simply used the word "died" when speaking of mortal demise.

Now everybody seems to stubbornly say "passed" as the the new active verb for ceasing to be alive. I'm so edgy and filled with distrust these days that the word seems less a euphemism to me than a liberal dodge of some sort.

Of all the things that are bad about death I never thought the verb itself was part of the problem.

Every time I hear that new spongy non-committal word a little part of me passes.

Sign me,

Shorter of breath and one day closer to death in Wisconsin

I still say died. People don't like it because they think it makes people sad. As if passing out of life is different than dying. It does help to give the word a little more oomph. Like after a few years of gently telling the NPR telemarketers that my ex's grandmother had passed away and would no longer be giving them money. One day, I got tired of them calling all the time and very straightforwardly said, "she's DEAD!" They stopped calling.

[Joemailman]

Some day this thread will just pass on to that great archive file in the sky.

[MJZiggy]

Or it could die because threads are still allowed to do that. Thread killer!!

[swede]

A little sensitivity, please.

[mraynrand]

Swede, you are passed to me.

[hoosier]

Time to face the music, it has become a passing league.

[swede]

Upon reflection, the effort to soften the language merely returns me, involuntarily, to the reflexive humor of my youth; every times someone passes I hear dead people farting.

[Brando19]

Last week I walked into the men's room of a local establishment and said "Damn! Did something pass away in here?"

Fixed

[Iron Mike]

I prefer the technical term we use at the MEs office: Someone "assumed ambient temperature."

[swede]

I prefer the technical term we use at the MEs office: Someone "assumed ambient temperature."

[Iron Mike]

If I only had mod powers, I would give you so much reputation points, there would never be cause for you to be red.

[Iron Mike]

If I only had mod powers, I would give you so much reputation points, there would never be cause for you to be red.

And it's YOUR fault I never learned the proper use of the semicolon.

I still have you pegged as David Clayton-Thomas' doppelganger, though:

[swede]

After a few minutes I recognized the voice and checked to make sure he was the old Blood, Sweat and Tears frontman.

Thank you. I protest, but thank you.

My son-in-law just converted tape->digital of an outdoor concert my daughters and I gave in a gazebo at the city park in my old home town a few summers ago. I'll post a few of those tracks if I can get him to e-mail them to me. The selections were slanted to the aging Lutherans and Methodists attending in their lawn chairs and patiently waiting for their ice cream. (It being the Sundaes in the Park Music Series.)

And semicolons separate two related independent clauses; the second is generally an explanation of the first.

There are other uses for the semi colon: lists following a colon if the listed items contain commas; a winking eye in typed emoticons, text messages, and other new-age scribblings; and as a synonym for colostomy, although this use is incorrect.