Andy is being treated for macular degeneration, and it’s responding to treatment but there was some concern at first if it would affect his driving up to the land. He renewed his license last Friday and had no problem passing the eye test even without glasses, so I sent this email to a friend:
Subject: Andy passed!
Passed the eye test for his license without glasses. 🙂
She wrote back and said she was relieved. Her first thought when she read “passed” was he “passed away”, a euphemism for “died”, and almost had a heart attack. Another friend said “passed”, without the “away” can also mean “died” nowadays. So I checked the internet to see what is going on.
One person wrote,
Native speakers, within the last few years I’ve been hearing the word “pass” used for death. This seems a new to me. I’m used to “pass on,” “pass over,” and certainly “pass away,” but until the last few years I never heard people simply say “___ passed.”
Is it a Southernism that’s just now catching on? I thought I first heard it used this way in the movie Walk the Line (2005), but on reflection, I heard it, once, in an old Red Foxx routine years ago.
Is this expression new to you or am I the only one who never noticed it?
One answer was,
It started as a black Southern thing. But I now hear non-Southern white people saying it on TV.
A great example of how languages constantly evolve.
But yep, I may have thought something bad had happened – because I do understand that word in the singular “sentence” as “in gone to be with his maker” or similar connotations…
“passing – loss – death – died” even just deceased…but I don’t think that defunct comes to mind 🙂
Anyway thankfully it was just a a big “tick” for the eye test!
Andy and I have clearly taken too many tests in our lives.
Passed” with an exclamation point is good news. 😀
I’m like you! it always meant passed as in completed a test satisfactorily!
but I don’t think it’s just a southernism. I watched a ton of Christmas movies on the hallmark channel and many were about a widow or widower in the story line and yes… it was always “my wife passed a few months ago.”
every single one used that same expression for anyone who died.
what is wrong with the word “DIED?” are we so afraid of death that we can’t even say it? I get a little tired of the American attitude of life and (shhhh… can’t say death or died out loud you know… and if you do you have to allude to it you must say “passed!”)
so you can scare the wits out of your friends when you pass an important test! LOLOL!
HOORAY for Andy!!! XO
I always use “died” or “shuffled off” instead of “passed”. It sounds as if “passed” alone has indeed migrated into common culture. Fascinating stuff. 🙂
I’m not aware of any treatment for macular degeneration, but possibly Andy has access to a doctor who may know of some new research. So far, all I’ve discovered (I have a type of MD) is vitamin therapy, and laser if you have a bleed in the retina. Anyway, glad Andy is doing well!
The vitamin is to keep the dry form from turning into the wet form. Andy’s is now the wet form. WebMD says,
Andy is getting the shots in his eyes. It means regular trips to Santa Fe, but at least there is something they can do. And the vision in his right eye has improved. The left eye isn’t as bad, and hopefully won’t need as many shots.
Thanks for the well wishes.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/69100/35-creative-slang-terms-death-past-600-years – quite a few others mentioned here…some seem quite common usage methinks
Thank you!
During one of the monthly meetings of our alumni association local chapter, I was introduced to some young alumni and one of them introduced herself as “I am so and so and I passed out in 2015.” I immediately asked her when, how and who revived her! It took a while for everyone around including the lady, to get the joke but once they did, the crowd took off discussing “passing out vs graduating”! It was unanimously decided that henceforth they will only use “graduated”. “Passing out” is a military term usually for graduating out of Military Academies which usually includes a “Passing Out Parade.”
https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/nda-passing-out-parade-in-pune-sees-250-cadets-march-to-serve-the-nation/story-pe51v8ycve2tAxdmd31IjL.html
😀 I had never heard “passed out” used like that, but it makes sense.
Thanks for the MD information, Jean. I take vitamins by mouth, but this is a new way to go. I’ll ask my specialist about it.
As I understand it, vitamins are used to keep the dry form from progressing to the wet. Andy now has the wet form in both eyes.
Saying someone has “passed” i.e. died is common in Northern Ireland as well. If it’s an elderly person, then you’d assume it means died. If it’s a young person, then as you say it’s decidedly ambiguous.
Andy is definitely elderly — clearly we are not as aware of it as my friend is. 😀