The phrase "expired in indigent circumstances" is a
euphemism for the much harsher phrase "died impoverished." A href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/euphemism">euphemism is, as
defined by Random House Dictionary, "the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague
expression for one thought to be ... harsh, or
blunt."
Random House defines href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/indigent">indigent
as meaning that someone is impoverished and lacking basic necessities, like food and
clothing. It's root is the Latin stem word indigent-, which is a
verb meaning to lack, to need, or to be poor. The verb expire has
one definition meaning "to emit the last breath" as expiration is a
technical term in the discussion of respiration. Therefore, if someone is said to have
expired, it means they have died.
A possible sentence
using the euphemistic expression "expire in indigent circumstances" might be, "The aged
man found under the freeway bridge had expired in indigent circumstances." Another might
be, "Oscar Wilde, spurned by society after his trial, sadly expired in indigent
circumstances in the Hotel d’Alsace in Paris."
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