Whatever you call it, we need to talk about it
‘Wearing a wooden onesie’
A poll commissioned by terminal illness charity Marie Curie has revealed over 50 different euphemisms for death and dying. The survey of nearly 8,000 people unearthed a variety of weird and wonderful phrases such as, ‘Wearing a wooden onesie’, ‘****Coco-pop it’ and ‘Turned turtle’.
The revelation comes as Marie Curie launches the biggest ever campaign to encourage people to talk about and plan for the end of life. The charity warns that our reluctance to think or talk about dying and death means many of us feel deeply unprepared and distressed when facing the end of life, either for ourselves or our loved ones.
Unusual phrases the survey found included: ‘Vacated their earthly meat prison’, ‘****Walked over the rainbow bridge’, ‘Pulled his last pint’, ‘Ate the pomegranate’, ‘Bought the farm’, ‘Hamburger time’, ‘Wooden Kimono’, ‘Tripping the light fantastic’, ‘Become one with the force’, ‘Doing the final moonwalk’ and‘S*** the cosmic bed’
‘Passed Away’ was the most popular term used(49%) followed by ‘Kick the bucket’ (24%). ‘Dying’, ‘death’ and ‘dead’ are commonly substituted with alternative phrases to be less harsh or blunt. However, in some cases such as in clinical settings, when talking to children, or talking to people with learning disabilities, using direct language can be more helpful.
Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said: “It doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you talk about it. The results show the nation has at least 50 completely different ways of talking about death which suggests society still has some way to go to feel comfortable about talking about dying, death and bereavement.”
The charity has launched the first ever nationwide TV advert to encourage people to talk about and plan for the end of life. The advert, ‘Whatever you call it, we should all talk about it’ plays on the euphemisms people use in the hope that more people will think, talk and plan for dying.
Matthew continued: “While most of us say we are comfortable talking about dying and death, the reality is that many of us are not making any preparations as it feels a long way off or something that will cause unnecessary upset both for us and the people around us.
“But we need to plan more for the end of life, while there is still time to do so. Having these conversations early can be easier than having them when we, or someone we love, is dying.
“At Marie Curie we have been caring for people at the end of life for over 70 years. With our expertise and experience we have developed some wonderful resources to help people start these important conversations.”
Marie Curie has a wealth of materials to help people plan for the end of life, wherever they are in the process, including free conversation starter cards, checklists and inspiring articles and resources at mariecurie.org.uk/talkabout. For questions about terminal illness call the Marie Curie Support Line free on 0800 090 2309.
Notes to editor
For a full breakdown of all the euphemisms and results for each country please contact the Marie Curie Press Office on media@mariecurie.org.uk or 0844 893 2101.
Top euphemisms for death by country
England1
Northern Ireland2
Wales3
Scotland4
1.
Passing/passed away/over/on
Passing/passed away/over/on
Passing/passed away/over/on
Passing/passed away/over/on
2.
Kick the bucket
Kick the bucket
Kick the bucket
Kick the bucket
3.
Popped their clogs
Left us/ no longer with us/gone
Popped their clogs
Popped your/their/his/her clogs
4.
Left us/no longer with us/gone
Gone to heaven/ in heaven
Pushing up daisies
Left us/ no longer with us/gone
5.
Pushing up daisies
Popped your/their/his/her clogs
Left us/ no longer with us/gone
Gone to a better place
6.
Snuffed it
Fell asleep/gone to sleep/the big sleep/eternal sleep
Leaving this mortal coil
Pushing up daisies
7.
Gone to heaven/ in heaven
Snuffed it
Gone to a better place
Snuffed it
8.
Leaving this mortal coil
Pushing up daisies
Moved/Moving on/moved over
Meet/met your/their/his/her maker
9.
Meet/met your/their/his/her maker
Meet/met your/their/his/her maker
Snuffed it
Leaving this mortal coil
10.
Gone to a better place
Brown bread / tatty bread
Meet/met your/their/his/her maker
Gone to heaven/ in heaven
11.
Fell asleep/gone to sleep/the big sleep/eternal sleep
Leaving this mortal coil
Croak/ croaked/croaked it
Fell asleep/gone to sleep/the big sleep/eternal sleep
12.
Moved/ Moving on/moved over
Moved/ Moving on / moved over
Gone to heaven/ in heaven
Croak/ croaked/ croaked it
13.
Croak/croaked/croaked it
On the Way Out
Fell asleep/gone to sleep/the big sleep/eternal sleep
Gone
14.
Brown bread/tatty bread
Croak/croaked/croaked it
Gone
On The Way Out
15.
6 feet under
Departed
Departed
Brown bread/tatty bread
Marie Curie – care and support through terminal illness
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Marie Curie is the UK’s leading charity for people with any terminal illness. The charity helps people living with a terminal illness and their families make the most of the time they have together by delivering expert hands-on care, emotional support, research and guidance. Marie Curie employs more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, and with its nine hospices around the UK, is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
1 England: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 4,015 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th - 21st October 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all England adults (aged 18+).
2 Northern Ireland: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 503 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th - 22nd October 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all NI adults (aged 18+).
3 Wales: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1003 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th - 21st October 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Wales adults (aged 18+).
4 Scotland: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2036 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th - 24th October 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Scotland adults (aged 18+).
UK figures based on an average calculated across the four regions.