Euphanisms

You are absolutely right.
Here in the north we call a spade a spade or even a shovel.
People die, end of. And fur babies? Eugh.

I dislike the phrase 'passed' to indicate that someone has died and I see this used more and more now.

My late DM once told me that a neighbour had died, she gasped and said very quickly, well, not died, you know, he passed away..... I said at the time I didn’t think there was a difference.

Some euphemisms are annoying I agree, others I don’t mind.
Switched off the light and reaching to the other side sounds like a couple’s night time love life.?
Fur babies is just nauseating.
Rainbow bridges likewise.
I think if it helps anyone to say ‘passed away’ or ‘passed on’ to deal with a loss, then fine.I always say died, but it’s a personal preference I suppose.

The trouble with euphemism is that they can be misunderstood, I had absolutely no idea what you were talking about! I am amazingly stupid though.

Fur babies and rainbow bridges get on my wick.
I also don't like children referred to as "littlies" and "little man".
Then again, I call children 'kids', which others don't like.

I couldn't care less, if passed helps a person deal with grief then fine with me to dismiss this is cruel in my opinion and rather smug

Passed away, or lost to refer to someone dying seems ok to me. I sometimes say I lost my daughter, because that is exactly how I feel about it.

Thank you Anniebach that's lovely - and typical.

Definitely MissA, my darling daughter died last November but her soul didn't and it is I who am lost so she is lost to me

If people grieving for a much loved pet finds comfort in Rainbow Bridge then why not talk of Rainbow Bridge

I have to agree with Annie
As much as it may grate it is the person and how they deal with loss that counts.
Over the rainbow bridge could be a useful term when very young children have to deal with a loss.

Cherry I wasn’t talking about young children although personally I don’t think it’s that useful either because then the child is upset they can’t go over ‘ the rainbow bridge’ to be with their pet
I didn’t mention passed on or passed away as to me they seem in such regular use as to be normal speak
I wasn t actually even referring just to death in my original post I was thinking if all the ‘ pretty terms’ used to describe all sorts of things
I even think the hurricane names are daft how can you have something that causes death and destruction called Emma or Sue
But yes just me maybe and I certainly didn’t mean to upset anyone recently berieved by my post
Although I don’t come from ooop north I agree with you Annsixty say things as they are

BlueBelle, what is flowery to you is comforting to others, I know you didn't want to upset anyone, certaintly didn't upset me ?

I m glad I didn’t upset you Anniebach and yes of course its a personal thing there are just a few very nauseating sayings going round and I m afraid fur babies and rainbow bridges come into the category for me
And if you notice I did say I was probably being unreasonable but I thought it was worth a chat about anyway

I can't stand "boobs"

I really object very strongly to being told I shouldn’t use our language in its fullness. It’s a form of censorship. If I think it’s appropriate to say someone has ‘passed away’ rather than ‘died’ then that is my judgement call.

If a friend who had no family chooses to talk about her ‘fur baby’ then fine and when that ‘fur baby’ ‘passed over the rainbow bridge’ it didn’t grate in me as I was too concerned at her level of grief and pain.

We have a beautiful language and it can be used to express all shades of meaning and genres. How Very Dare (! making my point) someone seeks to limit my choice of vocabulary or phraseology just because it gets in their nerves.

I live in the north and I hear plenty of people using euphemisms, though I don’t myself. My husband and my parents have died, nothing else. I didn’t use euphemisms about death when talking to my children, either. It can be confusing for children.

I suppose we almost all do to some extent when talking about bodily functions.

Please, what is the ‘Rainbow bridge’? I’ve never heard that one.

It’s where good doggies go when they die. Sort of a doggy heaven where they await being reunited with their owners.

Perhaps northern doggies go somewhere else likely Ilkly Moor bar t’at?

I think there are far worse things to worry abou, for instance like spelling euphemism correctly, not euphanism or euphuism
Lighten up BlueBelle

Spelling “about” correctly too !

CUSTOMER: He’s not pinin’! He’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! He’s expired and gone to meet his maker! He’s a stiff! Bereft of life, he rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed him to the perch he’d be pushing up the daisies!
His metabolic processes are now history! He’s off the twig!
He’s kicked the bucket, he’s shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisible!!
(“Dead Parrot Sketch” from Monty Python)

I rest my case ?

With the exception of euphemisms for death, which are, as you say, probably a way of dealing with loss, there are a number of annoying phrases out there.

As a child I was annoyed by all the "cute" phrases people employed instead of simply saying either that they needed to go to the toilet, or asking to be excused.

My father as a young GP was caught out by the expression "I fell wrong" - the patient was conveying the information that she had missed a period and was leading up to the fact that she thought she was pregnant. So there were two very confused people in that consulting room when my father started talking about twisted or sprained ankles!

Plain English would have avoided embarrassment in that case.

I've always thought the saddest short story in the English language is Saki's tale of the dogs waiting outside the gates of Heaven for their masters to come, as they won't go in without them.

The rainbow bridge is where all beloved pets go when they die. That story by Saki sounds heartrending,I prefer the rainbow bridge.