Doing some indexing for the LDS church. As a writer I have to wonder at some of the obituaries.
“Gladys (not her real name) age 83 died unexpectedly in the hospital surrounded by loved ones.”
Hmmmm. WAS it unexpected? For the loved ones to be surrounding her they HAD to have known death was on his way to collect, either because she was ill or they were waiting to whack her. Or are the “loved ones” indicating the spirits of people who have passed on? Could people see them?
To procrastinate my indexing even further I looked up terms that meant the same as “whack” – as in to kill – and came up with some interesting idioms for “dying” or “death”: (I’ve put an asterisk by the ones I’m particularly fond of.)
A Debt Everyone Must Pay
A Finnish To The Suffering
Ashes To Ashes
Assume Room Temperature
At Room Temperature
Bad End
Bad Turn of Events
Becoming Sainted
Before One’s Time
Belly Up
*Bereft Of Life
Bird’s Eye View
Bite The Big One
Blessed By The Pale Priest Of Dreamless Sleep
*Blinking For A Really Long Time
Bought It
Bought The Farm
Breathe One’s Last
*Buy A Pine Condo
Came To An End
Cashed Out
Cast Off One’s Hooves
Ceased To Be
*Checked Into The Wooden Waldorf
Crossed The River Styx
Crossed Over
Dance The Last Dance
Davy Jone’s Locker
Deader Than A Doornail
Defunct
Different Point Of View
Done For Now
Done With The Dance
Exit The Stage
Fade Out
Falling Off The Perch
*Fat Lady Has Sung
Feeling No Pain
Fiddler’s Green
Final Chapter
*Final Edit (perfect for writers!)
Floating Around Somewhere
From Time To Eternity
Gathering The Asphalt
Give Away The Spoon
Going Home In A Box
*Gone To The Narrow Bed
Gone West
Hand In The Keys
Hang Up One’s Sneakers
*Hop The Twig (or stick)
*Inanimate
*In The Bone House (coffin)
Joined The Choir Invisible
Kick The Bucket
Last Call
Last Great Mystery
Lifeless
*Living Impaired
Looking Down Upon The Earth
Lost The Fight
Meeting One’s Maker
Off The Hooks
Off The Twig
One With The Earth
Out of Date
Paid Charon’s Fare
Part of Upper Management
Paying A Debt To Nature
*Picking Turnips With A Step Ladder
Playing Checkers With God
Playing The Harp
Riding The Pale Horse
Saw His / Her Last Sunset
Sent To The Promised Land
Shuffled Off This Mortal Coil
*Singing With The Choir Invisible
Six Feet Under
Snatched From The Planet
Start The Last Journey
Stone Cold Dead
*Stretch One’s Legs
Swan Song
Talking To A Ouija Board
*Take a dirt nap
To pop one’s clogs
To go to a Texas cakewalk (hanged)
The Next Great Adventure
*The Parrot Is Dead
Threw In The Towel
Traded To The Angels
Traded Vehicles (getting another body)
Up and Died
*Went Over To The Majority
Went To Level 12 (for a building with only 11 levels)
With Better Company
With The Angels
