coffin corner
n.— «While Americans are now accustomed to institutionalized death, people in previous periods commonly died at home. Some Victorian-era town houses in New York even have their original “coffin corners,” the stairwell niches that enabled a coffin to be easily maneuvered down the stairs.» —“Some Buyers Regret Not Asking: Anyone Die Here?” by Stephanie Rosenbloom New York Times Apr. 30, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Nancy Gabriel from Ithaca, New York, recalls her father’s no-nonsense responses to minor injuries when she was a child: After making sure she was really all right, he’d say, It’s far enough from your heart; it won’t kill you. Other times he...
In English, we may express regret colloquially with the rhyming phrase Shoulda, woulda, coulda! German speakers also use a rhyming phrase to suggest the same idea: Hätte, hätte, Fahrradkette!, which translates literally as “If only, if only, bicycle...