I understand bro,and use the term quite a bit also. I just dont like it when it gets too graphic. Have you played a game called "Centipede"? It is a really tense game that is AWESOME! You can find it on Atari or Playstation. I dont know if it's on NES,tho...
Dying (in videogames) is just a general term I (and I know at least 90% of other people) use tho
Kinda related to the idea of lives and health in video games