Check off any of the following euphemisms for death that you have heard used in regular conversation more than twice (either by yourself, or by others):

They're funny when applied to something like a gnat or bug, but definitely not to a person.

I think anyone who's lost someone they love (particularly a family member) has a really hard time laughing at dead jokes. I suppose in time they'll be funny again, but in the meantime I spend part of my time feeling like a party pooper, and part of my time wishing all the dead jokes would go away.

Someone else will probably say, but Derek Bacon was a friend to many of us from WPI (and elsewhere) who died very suddenly, and too young.

My favorite has always been "crap the bed".

I have fond memories of Derek...

I was trying to think of some way to commemorate Derek's birthday, and something funny seemed to be the best way. You may not approve of some of the euphemisms, but a) Derek would have found them funny, and b) at least I spelled euphemism correctly. I have to admit that my personal favorite is "taking the dirt nap".

Who the heck is Derek?

...though I'm not sure what constitutes "regular" conversation...

I don't think euphemisms for death are meant to be funny, exactly. Their humor generally comes from their being quoted/taken out of context (i.e. "bought the farm" was a WWI euphemism referring to the dreams young soldiers had of going home and finding peace in the country and building a life for themselves..."He's dead, Jim" was a completely serious line from McCoy, trying to help Kirk stop his fruitless struggle against the forces of the universe). People say them instead of "dead" because death is an issue people rarely deal with well and "dead" just seems so stark. I prefer "joined the choir invisible" myself :)

Gee, thank you for reminding me. I still remember, but I didn't need nitty gritty details. Is the picture of 'Sailor Derek' still kicking about anywhere on the web?

Thanks for the reminder Lizzie. We will always miss him. ... Just spent an hour and a half laughing at his memorial site. My day is much better now. *** Reality check out lizzie's link, there are about 4 different pictures of Derek as Sailor Moon.

...though we never know where life will take us // we know it's just a ride on the wheel // and we never know when death will shake us // and we wonder how it will feel .... RR ..... for me, the closer relationship I have with the person who died, the harder it is to actually said 'dead' in conjunction with his/her name .... been a lot of this lately in my life ... too bad. I use SC as a distraction.

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Dead is dead. I don't think the dead guy cares what you say. I certainly won't when I'm dead.

Well, I've heard the spanish variations : "estirar la pata" or "palmarla".

the eternal dirt nap...

Our local mortician says to just say "dead" and quit trying to make it nicer. In an obit the other day it said the person had 'left.' As if you have a choice.

Does death really require a euphemism?

well usually i use dead, or iced