American Civil War Death Euphemisms...?

[Waterloo50]

I wonder why we use euphemisms for death, perhaps it's less painful and frightening to make fun of it, having said that I'm not sure how I would react if my doctor said you have 3 months left, then you're going to be ' eating dandelions by their roots'.

 

[alexjack]

Funny one over here, " Popped his clogs ".

 

[Waterloo50]

Funny one over here, " Popped his clogs ".

Pop was another word for Pawn, when you Pawned your clogs you didn't need them anymore because you were pushing up daisy's.

 

[tonijustine]

I think "giving up the ghost" came into the vernacular around the mid 1830s.

 

[E_just_E]

Did "kick the bucket" date back from that era? Certainly sounds like something from the era....

Nope, that came about a century previously and originated on the other side of the Atlantic.

 

[Waterloo50]

Nope, that came about a century previously and originated on the other side of the Atlantic.

and was used by Shakespeare in Henry IV Part II, 1597:

"Swifter then he that gibbets on the Brewers Bucket." [to gibbet meant to hang]

The wooden frame that was used to hang animals up by their feet for slaughter was called a bucket. Not unnaturally they were likely to struggle or to spasm after death and hence 'kick the bucket'.