Away the crow road, coco-pop it and up the lum — all are colourful phrases that mean one thing in Scotland: yer deid.

There are more than 50 phrases that avoid the brutal truth, from wearing a wooden overcoat to rolling a seven or copping your whack.

A poll of 2,000 Scots commissioned by the hospice charity Marie Curie found that “passed away” and “kick the bucket” were the most popular euphemisms. But you are no less deceased if you stick your spoon in the wall, vacate your earthly meat prison or shit the cosmic bed.

The findings were published at the launch of the charity’s biggest campaign to encourage people to talk about death and their personal preferences, such as whether they would like to be buried or cremated.

Libby Ferguson, medical director of the Marie Curie hospice in Glasgow, said that she saw patients who were too unwell to discuss their wishes, funeral preferences or will. “It can be a huge source of distress for the family,” she said. “From a practical point of view those conversations early when the person is a bit fitter is much better.”Even doctors can sugar-coat a terminal prognosis, she said. “I think doctors do find these difficult conversations to have and sometimes it can be easier to be positive with a patient, rather than giving them very bad news.”Davey Trimmer, 47, of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, has terminal oesophageal cancer. He said: “I think we need to get better as a society about saying things straight. It always seems such a shock for people because they haven’t talked about these things.“A doctor said to me [that] the cancer I have had changed from curable to treatable. I’m clever enough to know what that means but I know other people might think they’re going to be cured because they’re being told it’s treatable.”According to the survey, 68 per cent of Scots think they would be comfortable talking about their wishes for the end of life and 78 per cent to discuss those of a loved one.However, Debbie Mooney of Marie Curie in Scotland, said: “While most of us say we are comfortable talking about dying and death, the reality is that many of us are not making any preparations as it feels a long way off or something that will cause unnecessary upset both for us and the people around us.”