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August 09, 2005

Vishy's Indian English Dictionary: to expire

expire./eks·PAH·yər/. Die. Pass away. Kick the bucket. Origin unclear. Possibly from the sense of expiring that means exhaling. Another more demeaning and less likely possibility lies in the sense of to expire like a carton of milk or a package of cold medicine. Probably the most common death-related euphemism in India because it doesn't mention death or passing away directly. For example, "My father expired when I was two, before I could form my earliest memories of him."

Posted by Vishy at August 9, 2005 10:20 PM

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