croaked

Everyday

1. (literal) made a deep rough sound, like a frog or a person with a sore throat. tree →
2. (slang, euphemism) died. tree →

In the lessons

The «died» sense is rough, jokey slang used in crime stories, films and dark humour; never polite. All regions.

Examples

• The frogs croaked all night by the pond. tree →
• «Water,» he croaked, after the long walk. tree →
• In the film, the villain croaked at the end. tree →
• Gossip: «Did you hear the old miser croaked?» tree →
• My laptop croaked just before I saved my essay. tree →
• The raven croaked from the tree. tree →
• The raven flew and croaked--but too soon. tree →

Note

Trap: frogs croaking is literal and nice. Using «croaked» for a real death is disrespectful.