Reply to When did "passed" replace "died" -- and WHY?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]Some think that “dead” and “died” sound harsh.[/b]  “Oh your family’s all dead?” doesn’t have the comforting tone that’s, perhaps, intended.  I think people may get stuck between “passed on” and “passed away” and even “crossed over” — so they stop at “passed” to avoid saying something that feels wrong.

Language isn’t static, so if well-read and well-spoken people have shifted to this usage then perhaps it’s not generally seen as “sloppy”. [/quote]

But death is harsh? My dad DIED. I don't feel like making that less harsh. It was harsh. It's been almost four years and I still miss him so much. Saying he passed is like oh he's just somewhere else. I don't really want people thinking it's not a big deal. [/quote]

I think that's a fair opinion, but the reverse has also been really common. "Requiescat in pace" on tombstones is euphemistic, as is "kicked the bucket" or "bought the farm." The Romans would use "vixit," "he lived" as a way of saying they someone died. The ways we talk about death can be weird and there's definitely a tension between people, like you, who prefer directness and those who don't.[/quote]

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