---
title: Soft words for hard things: death and dying — how Mova does on the tests · Euphemisms
description: Lesson 1 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school: 2 of 12 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Soft words for hard things: death and dying

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**Tests:** 2 of 12 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 2 of 16 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 1 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · right ✓ {#t1}

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News: "The singer, who passed away on Sunday, will be buried in her home town." What happened on Sunday?

- **1.** The singer died — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** She fell ill on stage — no support
- **3.** The singer went back home — no support
- **4.** The singer gave her last concert — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Mia: "my goldfish croaked lol, flushing him tonight." Is Mia sad about a real person?

- **1.** Yes, a person in her family died — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Yes, her fish is sick but alive — no support
- **3.** No, her fish is making noises — no support
- **4.** No, she is joking roughly about her dead fish — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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At a funeral, which would hurt the family most?

- **1.** "Sorry for your loss" — no support
- **2.** "Sorry he is no longer with us" — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **3.** "Sorry he kicked the bucket" — **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **4.** "Sorry he passed away" — score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 2: «Death is the thing people soften most: at a funeral nobody says "Grandad is dead", they say "Grandad passed away" or "he is no longer with us", to be kind to t…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 4. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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Gossip: "Old Fred? Six feet under since March, mate." What do you learn about Fred?

- **1.** He died and was buried in March — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** He moved to a small flat in March — no support
- **3.** He went to live underground in March — no support
- **4.** He fell into a hole in March — no support

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**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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Ben's friend says "the late Mr Hill built this school". Ben says "so he's always late?" What should you tell Ben?

- **1.** Yes, he was never on time — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** No, it means he built it late at night — no support
- **3.** No, "the late" means Mr Hill has died — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Yes, the school was finished late — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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A neighbour says "We lost our dad in the spring." What should you say?

- **1.** "Did you find him?" — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** "I'm so sorry he died" — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** "Was he lost in the park?" — no support
- **4.** "Where did you lose him?" — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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In a western: "Three outlaws bit the dust in the shootout." What happened?

- **1.** They ate dinner — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Three outlaws were killed — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Three outlaws ran into the desert — no support
- **4.** Three outlaws fell off horses — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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Mum: "Your great-grandad departed this life before you were born." What does she mean?

- **1.** He was born before you were — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** He left the country before you were born — no support
- **3.** He died before you were born — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** He stopped working before you were born — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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A plaque in a park reads "Here lies Captain Grey, at rest at last." What is under the plaque?

- **1.** A bench for Captain Grey — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Captain Grey's old boat — no support
- **3.** Captain Grey's bed — no support
- **4.** Captain Grey's grave — **✓ the right answer** · no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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Tom: "Grandpa says when he goes to meet his maker I get his watch." When will Tom get the watch?

- **1.** When Grandpa visits his own dad — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** When it is made — no support
- **3.** When Grandpa finishes making it — no support
- **4.** When Grandpa dies — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Chatty: "Bloody car finally bit the dust on the motorway." What happened?

- **1.** The car got covered in dust — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The car was washed — no support
- **3.** The car broke down for good — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The car hit a man — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t12}

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A US pilot story: "Two of his friends bought the farm over the sea." What happened to his friends?

- **1.** They bought farms by the sea — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** They moved to the country — no support
- **3.** They were killed over the sea — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** They landed on a farm safely — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 11: «"Bought the farm" means died, often in a crash or in battle; it is American slang.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «buy» (+2); the same thing acted on «farm» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/t12/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Identify the plain meaning of the expression "passed away" as employed in a formal notice of bereavement.

- **1.** Was discharged from hospital — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Relocated to another address — no support
- **3.** Lost consciousness briefly — no support
- **4.** The person has died — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2}

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It is given that a churchyard is described as the "final resting place" of a certain individual. Determine what is thereby asserted.

- **1.** The individual is buried there — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The individual worked there — no support
- **3.** The individual last resided there — no support
- **4.** The individual habitually slept there — no support

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**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

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Select the response that most accurately characterises the expression "kicked the bucket".

- **1.** A literal description of upsetting a vessel of water — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** An informal and humorous way of stating that a person died — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** A term denoting the commencement of a sporting contest — no support
- **4.** A formal and respectful way of stating that a person died — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

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Ascertain the meaning conveyed by the designation "the late" when it precedes the name of a person.

- **1.** That the person is deceased — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** That the person is habitually unpunctual — no support
- **3.** That the person works during the night — no support
- **4.** That the person is late — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/e4/)

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- next →: [2. Soft words for hard things: death and dying](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/2-death-official-and-slang/)
- ↑ back to [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/)