terminal wean

terminal wean
 n.— «In twelve cases they performed a procedure called, in only mildly obscurantist language, a “terminal wean.” (Although neither doctors nor nurses literally “pull the plug,” the process is dramatic enough. After a doctor or, more often, a nurse turns down the respirator setting, death usually follows quickly, most often in an hour or two.)» —by Robert Zussman Intensive Care : Medical Ethics and the Medical Profession July 15, 1992. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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Further reading

Blessing Box (episode #1613)

Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article...