Something of an out...

[alexpgp]

In thinking of my late mother, it occurred to me to ask: Just when does one stop using "late" to describe the deceased? I mean, my intuitive understanding of the word is that it refers to someone recently dead. One can speak of "the late Ronald Reagan," but it would be strange to refer to, say, "the late Theodore Roosevelt" (or "the late Franklin D. Roosevelt," for that matter).

The web suggests that the word can properly be used for anywhere between 10-15 years (according to William Safire) to half a century (according to Theodore Bernstein). At least one source maintains "the late can be applied to people whose lives were recent enough to exist at any point within the living memory of the writer or speaker."

As it's been about 4-1/2 years since my mother died, and since she obviously lived recently enough to exist within my living memory, I guess I'm safe on both counts.

It's nice to get the little things out of the way.

Apropos of thinking of my mother, it has occurred to me, over some time, that almost every mention of her in this journal has not been all that flattering. On the one hand, I have nothing to apologize for, as I have not made things up. On the other, I should face the fact that some healthy portion of who I am is the result of her positive efforts. That, combined with the wisdom of of Shalkespeare's lines from Julius Caesar, to the effect that people's faults are remembered long after they die—while "the good is oft interred with their bones"—makes me want to focus my recollections along more positive lines.

Something to think about, as it continues to snow outside.

Cheers...

Comments

[egofood.livejournal.com]

I guess when to use "the late" is the same for any word: when it conveys relevant information, in this case to disabuse someone of the assumption that the person is still among the living. The real question is how long do you assume someone is alive? Last week I got a piece of junk mail addressed to my own mother who passed away about 8 years ago, so I guess she's still "the late". Then again I once got a letter addressed to my father about 25 years after his passing and another to my great-great-grandfather (that's him in the icon) who had been dead almost a century, so I guess "still gets mail" isn't an ironclad rule.