I’m not one for bucket lists mostly on the grounds that I object to the phrase “kick the bucket” as a euphemism for dying. I know many people prefer to talk about passing away – a widely used phrase for death which, incidentally, is not tolerated by The Irish Times Stylebook. This book stipulates that the more factual “died” should be used “in preference to passed, passed away, or other euphemisms”. Other people can be quoted in articles as having said their loved ones passed away. We’re not complete monsters.
My antipathy to the “kick the bucket” phrase only increased when I discovered that its origins might be traced back to the bucket people were standing on that was kicked away before they were hanged by execution or suicide.
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