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In modern usage, a “one-night stand” refers to a sexual encounter between two people who do not have an ongoing romantic relationship. The encounter typically takes place over the course of one night and does not lead to any further contact between the individuals involved.
- Buying The Farm
- Dead as A Doornail
- Crossing The Rainbow Bridge
- Six Feet Under
- Pushing Up The Daisies
- Bite The Dust
- Kick The Bucket
- Shuffling Off This Mortal Coil
- Laid Out in Lavender
- Sleeping with The Fishes
A person who has ceased to be is sometimes said to have "bought the farm." This agricultural expression may have roots in the plight of military pilots in the 20th century. If a fighter jet crashed on a farm, the farm owner could theoretically sue the government for damages. In a roundabout way, the settlement might pay for the farmland, with the e...
Why would anyone associate someone's health—or lack thereof—with carpentry? The earliest usage of someone being "dead as a doornail" dates to a 1350 translation of the anonymous 12th-century French poem Guillaume de Palerne. William Shakespeare used it in Henry VI, Part 2, written around 1591, and Charles Dickens in 1843's A Christmas Carol, writin...
A forlorn announcement of a pet's passing sometimes includes mention of the beloved animal "crossing the rainbow bridge." While the phrase is common on social media, its origins dateto the pre-Facebook 1980s. Three authors have all claimed to have written a poem using the language, which refers to a mythical connection between heaven and Earth. On ...
As idioms go, this one is rather pointed. To die is to often be buried six feet underground. But why six feet? Blame the plague. In 1665, when the illness swept England, London's Lord Mayor ordered that corpses be buried no less than six feet deep in an effort to help limit the spread of the pestilence that eventually tookmore than an estimated 100...
This gardening-related euphemism takes a pleasant visual (daisies) to soften the subject (the rotting corpse residing underneath). The earliest incarnation of the phrase may have been to "turn one's toes to the daisies." A version appears in the story "The Babes in the Wood," in Richard Harris Barham's Ingoldsby Legends folklore collection of the 1...
As much as Queen may deserve credit for popularizing the phrase ("Another One Bites the Dust"), they didn't coin it. The idea of sudden death resulting in a body collapsing into dust has origins that date back far earlier. "Lick the dust" can be traced to Psalms 72 of the King James version of the Bible ("They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow...
Of all the verbal contortions to get around saying "this person has died," few are more ambiguous than "kick the bucket." One common—and very morbid—explanation is that a person committing suicide may opt to hang themselves by standing on a platform before kicking it away, creating tension on the rope around their neck. To achieve death, they have ...
This romanticized phrase is another of Shakespeare's contributions to the lexicon of death. In 1602's Hamlet, he wrote, "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause." At the time, coile or coil meantfuss, making the phrase a reference to leaving behind mortal turmoil.
Another seemingly pleasant descriptor, to be "laid out in lavender" is to prepare a body for viewing or burial, presumably by using a pleasant smell to mask the foul odor of decomposition. The idiom takes a cue from "laid up in lavender," or the practice of storing clothes in lavender to keep them from being damaged by insects. The phrase denoting ...
A staple of both mob stories and parodies of mob stories, to "sleep with the fishes" is to hint that a rival has been murdered and possibly tossed into a body of water. Luca Brasi famously met this fate in 1972's The Godfather. But the phrase can be dated back to 1836 and to German villagers who wanted to warn off a fly fisherman. As Edmund Spencer...
Idioms for death provide a unique lens through which cultures express the inevitability of life’s end. While these expressions may vary, they all point to a shared human experience—facing the unknown with a mix of acceptance, curiosity, and sometimes, a touch of humor.
- Bite the Dust. Meaning: To face defeat or death. In a Sentence: As the hero bravely confronted the dragon, he knew there was a chance he might bite the dust.
- Kicked the Bucket. Meaning: A euphemism for death. In a Sentence: Grandpa always joked that he’d kicked the bucket if he didn’t get his daily dose of black coffee.
- Meet One’s Maker. Meaning: To die and meet God or a higher power. In a Sentence: Facing the storm at sea, the sailor knew he might meet his maker if luck deserted him.
- Pass Away. Meaning: A gentle euphemism for dying. In a Sentence: The elderly cat peacefully passed away in its favorite sunlit spot.
Oct 2, 2021 · Take a look at this list of idioms for death, with examples, to better understand how to use them. And if you’re unsure about the difference between an idiom and a euphemism, read this guide first.
1. A sexual encounter that only happens one time. After a night of drinking, Maria had a one-night stand with Mark but regretted it the next morning.
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Nov 23, 2021 · Meaning: A work shift that takes place late at night. Example: I’m a morning person; therefore, I’d never been able to work the graveyard shift like you. It’s your funeral
