14 Ways to Talk About Death

The logic is a bird stands on a twig when it isn’t flying. If it is dead, then it is no longer grabbing the twig with its claws. The bird falls to the ground.

5. Wake up on the green side of the grass: It might also be said as waking up on the right (correct) side of the grass.

To describe death, it might be used in the negative “One day, you might not walk up on the green side of the grass.” It implies the alternative is to be in a grave.

6. Gone to their final reward: This is another way of saying “they have gone to heaven.” Final means the last thing that is going to happen. It might also be their final resting place.

7. Join the choir invisible: This is a literary reference to a poem written by George Eliot, who died in 1880.

The name is a pseudonym for Mary Ann Evan, writing under an assumed name. She was a British novelist and poet. The expression conjures up a picture of the deceased in Heaven, singing with the angels.

8. Not with us anymore: No longer with us is another way of saying the same thing. It gets across the message of death or dying without actually using the word.

9. Six feet under: Yes, there was a TV series of the same title in 2001. Since graves are commonly buried six feet beneath the surface, this expression means if the person is “six feet under,” they have died.

10. Pushing up daisies: This is a less tactful way of explaining someone is dead. If a body is buried six feet under the surface and flowers grow above the surface, it implied they are exerting the force that makes the flowers grow.

11. Rest with your ancestors: This is an expression with Biblical roots. It comes from the second book of Samuel, chapter 7, verse 12. “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors…”

12. Deceased: This means the same as death, but seems somehow disconnected. When people talk about someone in the past tense, perhaps at the reading of the will, they refer to the departed as “the deceased.” It doesn’t seem as personal.

13. Departed: This could mean “left the room,” but it often means “left this word.” At a funeral someone might refer to the person who has died as “the departed” or the “dear departed.” It is a term of affection.

14. In a better place: This is an indirect reference to Heaven and getting your final reward. It implies the world we live in has tension, struggles and problems. All that is behind them once they have died.

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