XPost: rec.puzzles, alt.usage.english   
   From: peter@pmoylan.org   
      
   On 24/01/26 22:00, wugi wrote:   
      
   > Often I see an item about, eg, circumstances of someone's death,   
   > start with a sentence like "Le 25 janvier 1903 mourait SoAndSo dans   
   > sa voiture." With the meaning of a point-past.   
      
   Is this a way of softening the news? "Il est mort" sounds a bit blunt   
   and insensitive.   
      
   "Your wife is on the roof and won't come down."   
      
   --   
   Peter Moylan       peter@pmoylan.org    http://www.pmoylan.org   
   Newcastle, NSW   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)