A longtime reader, noting my not infrequent use of "passed away" to note the death of some philosopher, writes:
“Passed away” is a religious euphemism, mostly used by sanctimonious and smarmy people who are trying to say that someone's immortal soul has passed away from our contemptible fallen realm and into the bright realm of harp-strumming above.
It’s sort of Expiration Lite, or exiting from life without actually going through the messy process of death. It’s a way of denying reality. And that’s why it surprised me so much to see it on your blog, where reality-deniers usually get no mercy.
This was honestly a surprise to me (those who pass away, pass away into oblivion and nothingness!), but it would not be the first time I was tuned out of connotations of ordinary usage. What do readers think?
