"Most people my age are safely dead and I must soon throw out my book of telephone numbers since nearly everyone in it has, as they used to say, fallen from the perch or ridden on ahead—mad euphemisms abound."
"I'm getting old. And it's okay. Because thanks to our fear of death in this country I won't have to die. I'll pass away. Or I'll expire, like a magazine subscription. If it happens in the hospital they'll call it a terminal episode. The insurance company will refer to it as negative patient care outcome. And if it's the result of malpractice they'll say it was a therapeutic misadventure."
"Back to life? You mean I was... away from life?"
— Lars, Steven Universe
Yama: Get rid of them!
Fred: Quick question, when you say "get rid of us", do you mean 'throw us out' or are you talking more of a 'permanent' situation?
Yama: (does a Psychotic Smirk)
Fred: Permanent. Got it.
Fred: Quick question, when you say "get rid of us", do you mean 'throw us out' or are you talking more of a 'permanent' situation?
Yama: (does a Psychotic Smirk)
Fred: Permanent. Got it.
Chai: Your security tried to kill ME!
Rekka: Project Armstrong EULA. Fine print. Shoulda read it, PUNK! Defects get recalled. (does a Throat-Slitting Gesture)
Chai: Uh, recalled? You mean "killed"?
Rekka: Rekka ain't pick the verbs! That's for the mooks in marketing.
Rekka: Project Armstrong EULA. Fine print. Shoulda read it, PUNK! Defects get recalled. (does a Throat-Slitting Gesture)
Chai: Uh, recalled? You mean "killed"?
Rekka: Rekka ain't pick the verbs! That's for the mooks in marketing.
"In our last episode, the Dark Phoenix Saga ended with absolutely no consequences for anyone involved. The Phoenix Force cheerily went off into space on its own and no one was concerned about this at all, the Shi’ar Empire shrugged and said 'my bad' for trying to murder the X-Men, and Jean… Well, Jean died, but only for about two minutes before she was brought back by the X-Men... The whole thing led us to a discussion of how we could remove the violence from other famous comic book stories. Here are a few of my favorites:"
“The Green Goblin scares Gwen Stacy so much that she bumps her head on the Brooklyn Bridge and gets amnesia, completely forgetting her relationship with Peter Parker.”
“Secret Wars, but by Wars, I mean pillow fights.”
“The conflict of Watchmen begins when a mysterious figure throws an old man out of his window and into a bouncy castle.”
“Green Lantern comes home to find his girlfriend hidden in a refrigerator box fort. They spend the afternoon playing.”
“The Green Goblin scares Gwen Stacy so much that she bumps her head on the Brooklyn Bridge and gets amnesia, completely forgetting her relationship with Peter Parker.”
“Secret Wars, but by Wars, I mean pillow fights.”
“The conflict of Watchmen begins when a mysterious figure throws an old man out of his window and into a bouncy castle.”
“Green Lantern comes home to find his girlfriend hidden in a refrigerator box fort. They spend the afternoon playing.”
—Chris Sims on
X-Men: The Animated Series ("Cold Comfort")
X-Men: The Animated Series ("Cold Comfort") Ingrid: She had a very important mission assigned to her. Her mission was to take him out.
Carmen: On a date?
Ingrid: No. Uh, take him...
Carmen: Oh, you mean... (makes a cutting sound and motion to her neck)
Ingrid: I shouldn't be telling you this.
Carmen: On a date?
Ingrid: No. Uh, take him...
Carmen: Oh, you mean... (makes a cutting sound and motion to her neck)
Ingrid: I shouldn't be telling you this.
Good thing there were no people in that building.
Tails: Sonic! Dead end!
Sonic: Hey, Sonic the Hedgehog never says dead!
Robotnik: One billion Mobiums to capture Sonic! Alive...or otherwise!
Sonic: Hey, Sonic the Hedgehog never says dead!
Robotnik: One billion Mobiums to capture Sonic! Alive...or otherwise!
But she... she wanted to destroy us!
—Cole, Goosebumps, book Chicken Chicken
Death is such a nasty word...
—Snapdragon, Kabuki
Alexa: We were almost-
Ian: But you weren't. Timing is everything.
Ian: But you weren't. Timing is everything.
Yami: I thought you wanted to kill me!
Marik: Yes I- Wait No! I don't want to kill you! I just want to destroy you a little! Geez! Talk about overreacting!
Marik: Yes I- Wait No! I don't want to kill you! I just want to destroy you a little! Geez! Talk about overreacting!
I, Garland, will knock you all down!
—Garland, Final Fantasy
I didn't just get hurt, I went down!
—Aang, Avatar: The Last Airbender
SpongeBob: I don't know quite how to say this, but I'm afraid our dear pal Squidward is... is pushing up daisies!
Patrick: Oh, I thought he was dead.
Patrick: Oh, I thought he was dead.
Maude: Oh, foo! (takes one last gasp of air and faceplants into her dinner)
Ginger: Mom... is Grandma... napping?
Lois: I don't think so, Ginge. Somehow, I really don't think so.
Courtney: Poor dear...
The next day at school...
Ginger: ...And her last words were "Oh, foo"...
Dodie/Macie: Oh, foo...
Ginger: Mom... is Grandma... napping?
Lois: I don't think so, Ginge. Somehow, I really don't think so.
Courtney: Poor dear...
The next day at school...
Ginger: ...And her last words were "Oh, foo"...
Dodie/Macie: Oh, foo...
—As Told by Ginger, "Carl and Maude"
DIE, n. The singular of "dice." We seldom hear the word, because there is a prohibitory proverb, "Never say die."
This being the PG era, WWE would never say what exactly it was that dropped on AJ and Dolph, other than a “smelly mess.” So it could have been ice cream after all. Expired ice cream, at least.
Dexter: Charmander: The best of the three starter Pokémon in Red and Blue. If the flame on its tail goes out, it'll die.
Ash: Die? What does that mean?
Dexter: I'm sorry, did I say, "die"? Uh...I meant, "go to sleep, for a really long time." Yeah.
Brock: Ash, the thing looks like it could di-er, go to sleep any second now! Catch it and we'll take it to the Pokémon Center.
Ash: Die? What does that mean?
Dexter: I'm sorry, did I say, "die"? Uh...I meant, "go to sleep, for a really long time." Yeah.
Brock: Ash, the thing looks like it could di-er, go to sleep any second now! Catch it and we'll take it to the Pokémon Center.
"It was Judgment Day, and-and we got sent to the Bad Place! The Bad Place!"
—Copperhead, Justice League Unlimited; "Kid Stuff"
Dad: That's where all small, less significant pets go when they...
Dee Dee: Run out of batteries?
Dad: That's a nice way to put it, Dee Dee.
Dee Dee: Run out of batteries?
Dad: That's a nice way to put it, Dee Dee.
—Dexter's Laboratory, "Filet of Soul" note
Deadpool: We go into that compound, find Agent McGuffin, snag the list, then unalive Taskmaster and his acolytes. Capice?
Spider-Man: Wait... "unalive" them?
Deadpool: Yeah... yeah here's the thing. I can't really say the K-word out loud. It's a weird mental tic. (laughs) But we're going to destroy them, make them disappear, sleep with the fishes, WE'LL K-WORD THEM!
Spider-Man: You mean you want to kill them?
Deadpool: WOAH! Yeah, that does sound bad when you say it out loud. And yes we're gonna unalive them.
Spider-Man: Wait... "unalive" them?
Deadpool: Yeah... yeah here's the thing. I can't really say the K-word out loud. It's a weird mental tic. (laughs) But we're going to destroy them, make them disappear, sleep with the fishes, WE'LL K-WORD THEM!
Spider-Man: You mean you want to kill them?
Deadpool: WOAH! Yeah, that does sound bad when you say it out loud. And yes we're gonna unalive them.
—Ultimate Spider-Man, "Ultimate Deadpool"
"We thought you...We thought your game was over!"
Howie Rubin of Jaleco (the company that was going to publish the game under license) advised us the that the baddest bad word is Kill. The central activity in most Nintendo games is killing things. The image and the act are good, but the word is bad, even if the word does not suggest the image or the act.
Susan: This is a children's place. The rules are what children believe.
Bilious: Well that's a relief.
Susan: You think so? Things aren't going to be right.
...
Susan: I don't think it's possible to die here.
Bilious: That man who fell down the stairs looked pretty dead to me.
Susan: Oh, you die. But not here. You... let's see... yes... you go somewhere else. Away. You're just not seen any more. That's about all you understand when you're three.
Bilious: Well that's a relief.
Susan: You think so? Things aren't going to be right.
...
Susan: I don't think it's possible to die here.
Bilious: That man who fell down the stairs looked pretty dead to me.
Susan: Oh, you die. But not here. You... let's see... yes... you go somewhere else. Away. You're just not seen any more. That's about all you understand when you're three.
"If the Headless Horse catches me, I'm never gonna be heard from again! AND I WANNA BE HEARD FROM!!"
— Scootaloo, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
"Yes, that's right, we'll get him! We wouldn't want to kill him, save that for the hardcore Disney version!"
"Nobody ever dies in Nintendo! They're either "defeated" or they turn into an item and float away."
— The Angry Video Game Nerd plays Friday the 13th (NES)
You will be gone, and you'll be burning in... Well, you'll go to heaven!
— Dept. Store Spook, EarthBound (1994)
"Oh, Grandpa... Grandpa finally wore out last night."
— Granny Peg, Milly, Molly
Frank: "Mermaid Man … he, uh, checked out last night."
SpongeBob: "Oh. That's OK. I'll wait for him to get back."
Frank: "No, kid, I mean he's gone to a better place."
SpongeBob: "Rococo Reef Rest Home?"
Frank: "Mermaid Man is dead."
SpongeBob: "Is that some kind of metaphor?"
SpongeBob: "Oh. That's OK. I'll wait for him to get back."
Frank: "No, kid, I mean he's gone to a better place."
SpongeBob: "Rococo Reef Rest Home?"
Frank: "Mermaid Man is dead."
SpongeBob: "Is that some kind of metaphor?"
"We're trying to vanquish Kim Possible from the face of the earth, remember?"
—Drakken, Kim Possible
"If you're not careful, you could even lose your life!"
—Gardenia, Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
"He's gone, Scarlet... and he's not coming back."
—Sarah Whitney, Horseland, "Mosey"
"Now!... I can get rid of all the Greens at ONCE!''"
—Chip Whistler, Big City Greens, "Chipocalypse Now"
"You're- you're saying that he's... that he might... oh... Nurse? Nurse?! Oh, well, Gary, this looks like it might be... the end."
—SpongeBob to a disguised Plankton as Gary, SpongeBob SquarePants, "Shellback Shenanigans"
"Sorry to interrupt your gloating, sir. I just thought it would be pertinent for you to know that Plankton is laying on the street... forlorn."
—SpongeBob to Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob SquarePants, "One Coarse Meal"
"Billy, what’re you trying ta do?! Scare me to me?!"
—Grim, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, "The Nerve”
"Master Kaos make us drain water after he hire Troll guards. Too many of them fall in and not swim."
— Lorien, Skylanders: Giants
Eraqus: We want to talk to someone who disappeared.
Hades: Disappeared? Ohh, right. Mortals - always gotta sugarcoat everything. Well personally, I prefer "dead".
Hades: Disappeared? Ohh, right. Mortals - always gotta sugarcoat everything. Well personally, I prefer "dead".
"Why did you wake me from the sweet peace of slumber?! I will punish you...with death!"
— Wracktail, Super Paper Mario
" I want to go home! I want to go home right now! I want to go back to my house by the hill! I want to see my mother! But I know she's not there! I knew all along she wasn't out there in the sky! Because...because... she's sleeping under the tree on the hill!"
—Rosalina', Super Mario Galaxy
I was going to hunt him down and destroy him. No, not destroy. That was a weasel word. It was vague, meaningless. I was going to kill him.
Dying - a strange word, that seemingly is generally shunned. In the orbituaries nobody dies at all. There, the Lord takes to Him. There is departure, entering into eternal peace, putting an end to the earthly pilgrimage, just no dying. The clear simply verbum - nobody wants it, as if it had leprosy.
—Lothar-Günther Buchheim - Das Boot
