>In the past few days, once in a poem and again in a novel, both works by >reasonably highly regarded writers--I have come across the word "hung" >to refer to people who had committed suicide by stringing themselves up: >e.g., "One poor client hung himself from a basement rafter--...." I >recall being taught that beef (and other animal) carcasses were "hung" >for aging purposes, but that human beings were "hanged." Is this now a >laughably quaint distinction? I tried referring to this convention once by telling students that "people are never hung." The snickers indicated that I didn't word this very well. Larry Beason,Director English Composition Program Dept. of English Eastern Washington University Cheney WA 99004 [log in to unmask] WAC Page: http://ewu66649.ewu.edu/WAC.html