On words – death
I am back to reading about bereavement and revising before the end of my Cruse course this January. Today I am researching the word “death” because I start to realise how hard it is for us to talk about those concepts. I read a few true stories written by bereaved people and I start to see a theme here: when talking to a bereaved person people tend to avoid the word “dead” – they would use synonyms, for example, “passed” instead thinking it is making matters easier, but actually oftentimes avoiding being specific can be more painful. So wondering what is it really that we have in English for those three terms, I had a quick look. It wasn’t easy to compile this list and I warn you: you might find many of the below listed words upsetting, but that’s the point: we find those words upsetting but oftentimes the facts are easier to handle for the people affected by loss than metaphors.
Synonyms (134 words collated from here, here and here):
English
- Met his Maker
- Bought the farm
- Kicked the bucket
- Bought the big one
- Is pushing up daisies
- Went on to his reward
- Shuffled off this mortal coil
French
- Passer l’arme à gauche – to put the weapon on the left-side
- N’avoir plus mal aux dents – to have no more toothache
- Fermer son parapluie – to close one’s umbrella
Spanish
- Irse al otro barrio – to move to the other neighbourhood
- Seguir la luz – to follow the light
- Está a 3 metros bajo tierra – to be three metres under
Italian
- Svegliarsi sotto a un cipresso – to wake up under a cypress
- Andare a sentir cantare i grilli – to go listen to the crickets sing
- Lasciarci le penne – to leave one’s feathers
German
- Das Gras/die Radieschen) von unten betrachten — to look at the grass/the radishes from below
- Den Löffel abgeben – to give away the spoon
- In Gras beißen – to bite into the grass
Portugese
- Esticar o pernil – to stretch your leg
Bater a bota – to kick the boot
Vestir pijama de madeira — to wear wooden pajamas
Polish
- Kopnąć w kalendarz—to kick the calendar
- Skończyć swoje dni – to finish one’s days
- Zgasnąć jak świeca – to go out like a candle
Hungarian
- Csókot vált a halállal – exchange kisses with Death
- Kileheli a lelkét – exhale one’s soul
- Beadja a kulcsot – hand in the key
