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joy that kills

English translation: Story by Kate Chopin

04:25 Jan 28, 2002
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary
English term or phrase: joy that kills
when the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills.
katie
Selected answer:Story by Kate Chopin
Explanation:
Please take a look at this page:

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_r...

In this story, grief over a departed husband, heart disease, and joy of liberation from the shackles of oppressive married life all came together in one tumultuous moment, leading to death, or it seems.
Selected response from:

Fuad Yahya
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +4Thrombosis caused by sudden intensive physical activity
Sven Petersson
4 +2drugs? sex?
Mike Sekine
4fun, that leads to death
Klaus Dorn (X)
4Story by Kate Chopin
Fuad Yahya
4The joy of life kills.
Simon Charass


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
fun, that leads to death


Explanation:
What they might be referring to here is the fact that the lady in question lead a fun life, ignoring the signs of heart disease and still continueing to do what she liked doing...having fun that ultimately leads to death.

Need to know more context, though.

Klaus Dorn (X)
Local time: 09:11
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in pair: 35
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
drugs? sex?


Explanation:
need to know more context, but I would sugegst the above.. sex and drugs can give you a great pleasure, hence the "joy", but they can kill you in certain conditions..

and in the recent incident might suggest, Pretzels may very kill a man as well! (wait, I meant "almost" kill a man)

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Note added at 2002-01-28 04:38:31 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

wow.. I typed that so fast I made so many grammatical mistakes! sorry

Mike Sekine
Japan
Local time: 15:11
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in pair: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  athena22: This is where I'd go with it... Context is all, though...
2 mins
agree  Sheila Hardie: yes, I think this is the idea, abuse of drink, drugs, etc. perhaps:)
1 hr
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21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Story by Kate Chopin


Explanation:
Please take a look at this page:

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_r...

In this story, grief over a departed husband, heart disease, and joy of liberation from the shackles of oppressive married life all came together in one tumultuous moment, leading to death, or it seems.


    Reference: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_r...
Fuad Yahya
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 893
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
The joy of life kills.


Explanation:
Reading those words reminds me of somebody very close. She was a woman that dedicated all her life and energy to her family. She knew how to enjoy and make us enjoy all those little things that make the every day’s life. She always knew what to say, and most important, how to say it, in order to make the difficult moments less painful. Her heart was filled with love and understanding. So, after many years of tenderness and love, her heart became to full and stopped beating. She was my mother.

Simon Charass
Canada
Local time: 02:11
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in pair: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Liv Bliss (X): Your mother could not have had a more wonderful tribute.
10 hrs
  -> Thanks.
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Thrombosis caused by sudden intensive physical activity


Explanation:
In the good old days, when whorehouses were acceptable and streetwalkers and call girls were frowned on, it was noticed by madams (= whorehouse managers) and doctors consulted that a disproportionately high frequency of deaths among the patrons occurred in the bedrooms of whorehouses. The reason of death was almost always thrombosis, caused by sudden intensive physical activity. “Joy that kills” was used to describe such deaths. Gradually the expression “joy that kills” lost its roots and became synonymous with “thrombosis caused by intensive sudden physical activity”, covering not only sexual but all intensive physical activities.


    Madams and doctors.
Sven Petersson
Sweden
Local time: 08:11
Native speaker of: Native in SwedishSwedish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 160

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Gayle Wallimann: I've heard of this too.
2 hrs
  -> Thank you very much!
agree  John Kinory (X): It sounds so anecdotal and improbable, it must be true [LOL]. Have they changed the layout of this box, yet AGAIN????
3 hrs
  -> Thank you very much!
agree  Hermeneutica: oh boy la mort douce ... we need more context, that much is clear.
6 hrs
  -> Thank you very much!
agree  Nenija Hasanic: It is only sex I would say!
15 hrs
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