ABA Journal The digital English academy
Welcome.
Do you remember what “to kick the bucket” means?
It is an expression that means “to die”.
It is considered a euphemism, which is a polite way of saying something that is considered socially rude. So, instead of saying “Ben died” we would say “Ben kicked the bucket”.
One theory, regarding the origin of this idiom comes from the Middle Ages. When someone was sentenced to death, a rope was put around their neck and then the bucket they were standing on was taken away. Then the victim fell and died. There are more theories, but they are all very macabre!
Continue reading to learn how to use this expression in a sentence. But first, don’t you think this cartoon is funny? It is what we call “black humour” because it is laughing at something dark, in this case death.
Examples
“Did you know, David’s next door neighbour kicked the bucket last night”
“I am never going sky diving, I’m too young to kick the bucket!”
TWEET IT OUT: I just learnt the meaning of the idiom “to kick the bucket” with ABA English! #alwaysbelearning
