# The Word 'Cremains' - is it OK or do you hate it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531 "2011-09-16T17:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/21 "2011-09-16T19:41:07Z")
Perfectly cromulant, IMHO. What else would you call it? Oh. Ashes, I guess. Nonetheless, is there some reason why we have to tip toe or better yet, a reason why there’s even a reason the term isn’t acceptable? I say this as someone who had the, uh, interesting experience of digging her hands into the _cremains_ of her beloved mother and scattering them. I’ll tell you, the terminology for the substance stuck under my fingernails was the last thing on my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/22 "2011-09-16T19:52:56Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Nonetheless, is there some reason why we have to tip toe or better yet, a reason why there’s even a reason the term isn’t acceptable? I think the sum total of the objections is “the word sounds dumb.” Which is a perfectly cromulent reason to dislike a word. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/23 "2011-09-16T19:58:25Z")
Yeah, I just think it sounds dumb and like they are trying to be cutesy. So they’re not “true” ashes…so what! We’ve been calling them ashes forever, why change that? If you absolutely cannot call them ashes, what’s wrong with remains or cremated remains? Why the need for a cute word? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/24 "2011-09-16T20:04:18Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > “Ashes” is a lovely old word with deep metaphoric roots. > > “Cremains” is nasty, manufactured marketing speak. I second this thinking, although I’m not really offended by ‘cremains’ any more than say… people who say “let’s touch base” or other similarly dull management jargon. Oh… and about “oven dried ancestors”… is anyone else thinking of the jerky mummies on Futurama? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/25 "2011-09-16T20:09:13Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > “Ashes” is a lovely old word with deep metaphoric roots. > > “Cremains” is nasty, manufactured marketing speak. Well put. It doesn’t matter if they’re ashes in the sense of ‘burnt wood,’ because ashes have only one meaning. But I clicked ‘other’ on the poll because I only mildly dislike the word, not hate. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/26 "2011-09-16T20:15:15Z")
That should of course read: It doesn’t matter if they’re ashes in the sense of ‘burnt wood,’ because ashes **doesn’t** have only one meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/27 "2011-09-16T20:18:48Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > “Ashes” is a lovely old word with deep metaphoric roots. > > “Cremains” is nasty, manufactured marketing speak. But all words are coined; somebody makes them all up. As I wrote in the other thread, “cremains” is more specific than “ashes” (though I’ll concede the meaning of the latter is generally clear in context) and more compact than “cremated remains.” I have more of a problem with “utilize” than “cremains.” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/28 "2011-09-16T20:24:11Z")
Whether you want to call what’s in the brass and mother-of-pearl jar on my night-table “cremains”, “ashes”, “oven-dried ancestors” or something else, I call what’s in the jar “mom”. Is that odd? That in my family we’ll even refer to what’s in the jar by who it was? “What’s in the jar?” “Uncle Bob”. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/29 "2011-09-16T20:40:54Z")
Never heard it before this topic and I think it sounds dumb ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/30 "2011-09-16T20:45:23Z")
Stupid portmanteau word. What is wrong with ashes, it was used for centuries. I am not one for euphamisms or PCness. Dead is dead. I use corpse, dead, ashes, body as appropriate. And I didnt respond in the other thread, but I plan on donating my body to science, even anatomy students need a good laugh. What they do with me afterwards doesn’t matter - I am not in the body after I die. I think that in most cases they cremate the remains and send them back to the family. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/31 "2011-09-17T01:34:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think the sum total of the objections is “the word sounds dumb.” Which is a perfectly cromulent reason to dislike a word. What do breakfast pastries have to do with anything? ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/32 "2011-09-17T01:44:50Z")
Hate “cremains.” Like “bofferings.” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/33 "2011-09-17T01:51:34Z")
QUOTE=Marley23;14262239]I think the sum total of the objections is “the word sounds dumb.” Which is a perfectly cromulent reason to dislike a word. [/QUOTE] Hmmmm. Okay, point taken. It never occured to me before now. What I don’t particularly care for is the practice of \*handling \*them or, egad - \*keeping \*them. I’m absolutely for cremation and because it was my mother’s wish and gave the rest of my family comfort, I went along with the whole scatter thing, but personally I find it morbid and kind of, I don’t know, an empty gesture. Yikes, I’ve hijacked in a large way. Apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/34 "2011-09-17T01:59:38Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > cremains will have to do until something better comes along. What was wrong with “remains”? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/35 "2011-09-17T03:04:29Z")
Some other option, specifically: I don’t **hate** it, I just think it’s a bit silly. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/36 "2011-09-17T03:18:06Z")
Good thing my parents didn’t request to be scattered, because I would NOT have been able to open the container and peer inside, let alone REACH in to grab a handful. I’m sorry, but that is creepy beyond words. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/37 "2011-09-17T03:40:56Z")
Oh, if anyone is wondering what they look like - cremated remains have always reminded me more of concrete dust than ashes from, say, a wood fire. In my sister’s case I think they ran 'em through a grinder, because they were all very fine and uniform. Mom’s were a bit lumpy, but nothing identifiable as part of a former person. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/38 "2011-09-17T15:46:24Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > What was wrong with “remains”? Remains can refer to an un-cremated corpse as well as ashes. Cremains is more specific. ---
**Author:** ![Jaguars](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaguars/32/5879_2.png) [@Jaguars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaguars)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/39 "2011-09-19T09:29:49Z")
‘Cremated Remains’ then. I think the word is unsuitable for funereal matters. Have a look at Wiki’s [List of Portmanteaus.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_portmanteaus) Virtually all of them are recent coinages for comedic effect. Ignoring shortenings of very awkward words (e.g. ‘Napalm’), none of them have the dignity for formal useage in a funeral home. As a backroom jargon term, I wouldn’t have a problem with the useage, and I’m OK with portmanteaus in general (Apart from ‘Prequel’.) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531/40 "2011-09-19T11:02:34Z")
I still default to remains… guess I ain’t hep to the death industry lingo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-cremains-is-it-ok-or-do-you-hate-it/596531.md?page=3)