Basic Trope: Uttered to lessen the emotional impact of one character's death.
- Straight: After escaping from the Elaborate Underground Base, Bob is mortally wounded by pursuers while Alice escapes with the stolen MacGuffin. Charlie follows after her and when asked about Bob, sadly shakes his head and utters, "He Didn't Make It..."
- Exaggerated: Characters avoid talking about Bob's death at all, until Alice demands to know what happened; Charlie replies "He didn't..."
- Downplayed:
- "He's gone. There's nothing we can do for him now."
- When Alice asks Charlie if Bob made it out, Charlie shakes his head with a sad face.
- Justified:
- Alice was Bob's lover and Charlie wants to dampen the shock of the news upon her.
- Charlie is in shock and can't bring himself to say the word "died."
- Inverted:
- Alice is killed before Charlie and Bob can catch up with her. "We didn't make it in time..."
- Bob promised Alice that he's "gonna make it", meaning that he will survive the escape.
- Alice, Bob, Charlie, and the pregnant Doris are escaping the underground prison. Doris is injured, then when Charlie tells Alice and Bob that Doris's injuries have been treated, Alice asks, "What about the baby?". Charlie responds, "He made it", indicating that the baby was able to be born.
- Charlie describes Bob's death in a very graphic and/or academic way.
- Subverted:
- Charlie believes he saw Bob die and tells Alice Bob didn't make it. A few heartbreaking moments later, Bob calls them to inform that he's Not Quite Dead yet.
- "He didn't make it...but he says he'll be here tomorrow."
- Double Subverted: ...but dying.
- Parodied:
- "I didn't make it. Twenty effing times in a row!"
- "He's not dead yet!"
- Every character death has the line "[He/she] didn't make it", to the point where the other characters find it annoying.
- Zig Zagged: Charlie tells Alice that Bob didn't make it. She berates him for using euphemisms before bursting into tears. Then Bob contacts them telling he's alive. However, they don't make it to him before he succumbs to his wounds. Alice then proceeds to use the exact wording to explain Bob's absence to his parents. But his mother doesn't get the euphemism (or pretends not to) until her husband breaks it down.
- Averted: Charlie outright says that Bob is dead, or Everybody Lives.
- Enforced: Never Say "Die".
- Lampshaded: "I couldn't very well say, 'Your boyfriend croaked' to her, could I?"
- Invoked: "She was his girlfriend. Let's not be too blunt about it..."
- Exploited: They're not out of danger yet, so Charlie is going to need Alice to cooperate with him. Knowledge of Bob's demise might put her into a Heroic BSoD, thus making it that much harder for Charlie to get them both out alive, so he phrases it as a euphemism to prevent her from thinking about it too much.
- Defied: "Couldn't you word it milder, moron?!" "Death is always death, regardless of how you put it."
- Discussed: "When he said Bob didn't make it, I didn't understand at first. But then it hit me..."
- Conversed: "Have you noticed how they tend to use a lot of euphemisms in kids shows?"
- Deconstructed: After being told this, Alice angrily bursts out at Charlie to spare her the circumlocution before starting to cry.
- Reconstructed: Charlie said it that way because he couldn't bear to say he died any more than he felt she could bear to hear it.
- Plotted A Good Waste: The story begins with Charlie telling Alice that Bob didn't make it. The rest is a satirical George Carlin-like treatise of overuse of euphemisms in modern society.
- Played For Laughs: No Longer with Us
- Played For Drama: Despite Charlie's diplomatic efforts, Alice is traumatized by them and bursts into tears whenever anyone uses similar wording, even on unrelated matters.
"Um, about that...y'see...the link, well... He Didn't Make It."
"Didn't make what? The banana bread?"
