kick the bucket

== English == === Etymology === There are many theories as to where this idiom comes from, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) suggests the following: A person standing on a pail or bucket with their head in a slip noose would kick the bucket so as to commit suicide. The OED, however, says that this is mainly speculative; An archaic use of bucket was a beam from which a pig is hung by its feet prior to being slaughtered, and to kick the bucket originally signified the pig's death throes. The OED finds this a more plausible theory. Another theory is given by Roman Catholic Bishop Abbot Horne: After death, when a body had been laid out, […] the holy-water bucket was brought from the church and put at the feet of the corpse. When friends came to pray […] they would sprinkle the body with holy water […] it is easy to see how such a saying as "kicking the bucket" came about. Many other explanations of this saying have been given by persons who are unacquainted with Catholic custom […] === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/ === Verb === kick the bucket (third-person singular simple present kicks the bucket, present participle kicking the bucket, simple past and past participle kicked the bucket) (idiomatic, euphemistic, colloquial, humorous) To die. Synonyms: kick it, bite the dust, buy the farm; see also Thesaurus:die (idiomatic, colloquial, of a machine) To break down such that it cannot be repaired. ==== Related terms ==== bucket list ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === Gary Martin (1997–), “Kick the bucket”, in The Phrase Finder. Michael Quinion (1996–2026), “Kick the bucket”, in World Wide Words.