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Australians hate the phrase "passed away."; And I don't get it.
Topic Started: Apr 6 2011, 06:40 PM (1,580 Views)
apple
one of the angels
John D'Oh
Apr 6 2011, 07:17 PM
Gone to sing with the choir invisible.

Popped his clogs.
too close to the funniest ever.
it behooves me to behold
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Crossed the end zone.

Hit the checkout counter.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
ivorythumper
Apr 6 2011, 09:26 PM
I had that all the time when I was studying in England -- someone always taking cheap shots at America.
That's terrible. You'll certainly never catch me doing that.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
I think it's a great tribute to all of our self-control that we're two pages in, and nobody has posted a clip featuring a Norwegian Blue.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Pushin' daisies, taking a dirt nap, and my personal favorite: Croaked. :D

That said, death is something that happens to the physical organism; NOT to the person themselves.
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Copper
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Shortstop
Aqua Letifer
Apr 6 2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:
 
Eschew euphemisms, especially if it seems you are protecting your audience, e.g. 'passed away' instead of 'died.'


Yes.

Especially the "especially if it seems you are protecting" part.
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Woodrow
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Junior Carp
It was only recently I learned that the expression "gave up the ghost" was biblically based. That's a pretty cool one!
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Renauda
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HOLY CARP!!!
Dewey
Apr 6 2011, 09:53 PM
The term "passed away" is questionable theologically....
Now that's funny and all the more reason for me to use it.
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AndyD
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Senior Carp
Doesn't our use of 'passed' in this way come from the Gospel of John, in Chapters 1 & 5?

I use 'pass on', or when in a slightly lighter mood, 'fall off the twig'
Every morning the soul is once again as good as new, and again one offers it to one's brothers & sisters in life.

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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Aqua, your professor sounds like a real dick.
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Frank_W
Apr 7 2011, 05:49 AM
Aqua, your professor sounds like a real dick.
I am sure he would appreciate being told just like that, too. :)
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Yes. Absolutely. And after you tell him that, Aqua, you should waterboard him in the toilet.
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Renauda
Apr 7 2011, 05:35 AM
Dewey
Apr 6 2011, 09:53 PM
The term "passed away" is questionable theologically....
Now that's funny and all the more reason for me to use it.
As opposed to the more theologically sound 'burning in eternal hellfire', which is a bit of a no-no at the old wake.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Renauda
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HOLY CARP!!!
You forgot the part about weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Chris Aher
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Middle Aged Carp
I'm not fond of the phrase "passed away" either but I find myself using it sometimes. When my son died, I found that it was uncomfortable or even hurtful to many people for me to use the term "died" bluntly. The euphemism was not comforting to either my wife or to me, though.
Regards,
Chris
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
I'm still so sorry, Chris. I remember when it happened... I hope the healing process has been kind to you and your wife. ((HUG)) to you both.
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Dewey,

(sorry it takes me so long to get back to your posts, 14-hour time difference and all)

Quote:
 
Death, by definition, means the cessation of physical life and the continuation of the person in life after this life. The term is a two-sided coin; there's no need to use a term that emphasizes only one side of the coin at the expense of acknowledging the reality of the other side.


If I agreed with you on this then I wouldn't really have any argument. But the spiritual elements of the word "death" are auxiliary, not implicit.

The primary definition is something along the lines of (depending on which dictionary you use) "the total and permanent cessation of all vital functions of an organism." It's only when you get down to the least common definitions do you see mention of anything spiritual. In terms of usage, it has more in common with "extinction" than "passing."
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Copper
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Shortstop
Frank_W
Apr 7 2011, 06:10 AM
Yes. Absolutely. And after you tell him that, Aqua, you should waterboard him in the toilet.

Yes, of course waterboard him, just be careful not to pass him away.
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Copper
Apr 7 2011, 05:50 PM
Frank_W
Apr 7 2011, 06:10 AM
Yes. Absolutely. And after you tell him that, Aqua, you should waterboard him in the toilet.

Yes, of course waterboard him, just be careful not to pass him away.
You appear to have killed the correct usage of the term in your example. You don't "pass somebody away."
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Frank_W
Apr 7 2011, 06:10 AM
Yes. Absolutely. And after you tell him that, Aqua, you should waterboard him in the toilet.
I'm gonna wait until my term is over first.
But the day I turn in my final assignment is going to be Candid Opinion Day.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Ballyhoo
Apr 6 2011, 11:56 PM
I've never known anyone to have a problem with "passed away".
See, that's what I figured. And I think all this business about "passing away," and the general vibe I'm getting from that one professor and a good chunk of my classmates has everything to do with the kind of people who take writing classes, and nothing at all to do with their being Australian.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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RosemaryTwo
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HOLY CARP!!!
Wise you are, mysterious Aqua Man.

Learning you are.
"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
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Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
Posted Image

Fvck the Australians...
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
Aqua Letifer
Apr 7 2011, 06:04 PM
Ballyhoo
Apr 6 2011, 11:56 PM
I've never known anyone to have a problem with "passed away".
See, that's what I figured. And I think all this business about "passing away," and the general vibe I'm getting from that one professor and a good chunk of my classmates has everything to do with the kind of people who take writing classes, and nothing at all to do with their being Australian.
Really?

My beef with the expression is nothing to do with writing classes. I remember wanting to scream to the rafters (I didn't of course, because I don't want to make people feel bad) when I heard that, after having people close to me die. It felt like they were trying to make it sound softer, because dealing with the reality of what happened was just too icky. Doesn't work for me. They're dead. Worm food. They will never be with us again. That's a bit more than a 'passing'.

Sorry. To each their own; I respect your thoughts on this, Aqua, but I guess it's a pretty personal thing.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
sue
Apr 7 2011, 08:17 PM
Really?

My beef with the expression is nothing to do with writing classes. I remember wanting to scream to the rafters (I didn't of course, because I don't want to make people feel bad) when I heard that, after having people close to me die. It felt like they were trying to make it sound softer, because dealing with the reality of what happened was just too icky. Doesn't work for me. They're dead. Worm food. They will never be with us again. That's a bit more than a 'passing'.

Sorry. To each their own; I respect your thoughts on this, Aqua, but I guess it's a pretty personal thing.
No, I know where you're coming from sue. My point was that writerly folks tend to fixate more upon words or phrases they don't like. Also, aligning themselves to the more arty crowds, they tend to dog on Ahmurrika more than others, as I know it's not the whole country that thinks like this. I'm talking about a specific type of person here, not the whole country. That's what I meant.

And personal preference is totally fine, I'm just against the faculty banning the phrase completely, and I think their line of reasoning for doing so is all kinds of baseless. It's not some crappy phrase America conjured up and I'm not even convinced it's a euphemism. If you are of a religious background (which I know many are not), I think the word's more than appropriate (but still wondering where Dewey's getting his ideas about the word "death" because I could be wrong about that.)
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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