A Canadian Thanatology: 14 Death Sentences for You
1. Gone to the Sand Hills. • This is a southern Alberta euphemism for death. The Sand Hills are the Happy Hunting Grounds for the Blood people of the sandy hill country south of Lethbridge.
2. Taking a dirt nap in the bone orchard. • Dead and buried.
3. Pèter au fret ‘to fart in the cold’ = to die, in lively Québécois folk speech.
4. His bungee cord is frayed. • One more “jump” will kill him. He is near death.
5. My, she got away in a hurry. • A description of sudden death, heard at a funeral in Chesterville, Ontario.
6. Sympathy cards? Lord, yes, we got enough to shingle hell over twice.
7. He’s sucking on daisy roots.
8. She’s put on wings and a white nightie and was last seen over the Beaufort Sea.
9. Put a fork in me. I’m done. • A bit of terminal humour, this was actually spoken by a dying man in Ottawa.
10. How’s Tom look these days? He’s circling the drain.
11. Have you seen Jenny lately? She looks like Death nibblin’ a stale cracker.
12. You look like a can of death with the lid off.
13. A very elderly gentleman sitting in an armchair in a retirement home is reading the Bible. A nurse walking by asks, “What are you doing today, Bert?” Says Bert, “Cramming for the finals.”
14. But let us conclude on an optimistic note. Here’s a sprightly saying when told by a relative or friend that they have recovered from a serious illness: “Good! Now at least you’re going to see the grass from the right direction.”
There are more sayings about the grimmest reaper in three of my books: Click any of the titles for a preview. The marvelous illustrations for this column are the work of one of Mexico’s greatest engraver artists, Jose Guadelupe Posada, 1852-1913.
© 2006 William Gordon Casselman
Hundreds of links to more of my word entries are available below.
thanatological sayings Canadian sayings about death and dying death sentences: Canuck expressions about death
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