Today we are continuing our learning with a blog post about Halloween, which is held on October 31st, with a series of idioms, which are slightly more gloomy than usual: idioms about death!
Also, during this time not only is Halloween celebrated, but in countries with Catholic traditions, All Saints Day is celebrated (November 1st), in which the dead are remembered and worshipped.
Death in our culture is often seen as a taboo topic of discussion, for this reason we have a series of lighter, less blunt expressions about death, that may make light of a gloomy situation.
Today we are going to look at a number of idiomatic expressions which all mean the same thing: to die.
To be at peace / rest
Tone: euphemistic
Meaning: To finally be at peace or find peace from the life you have lived when you die.
To buy the farm
Tone: casual
Meaning: In the past if a farmer had died and life had had insurance, this served to “buy” the farm once he was deceased.
To breathe your last breath
Tone: literary
Meaning: Literally it means to take your last breath of air before you die.
To cash in your chips
Tone: casual
Meaning: In gambling, the last thing you do is “cash in” the chips you’ve won to receive your money.
To kick the bucket
Tone: casual
Meaning: It comes from the practice of executing prisoners by making them climb a bucket to pass access noose.
To depart this life
Tone: Neutral
Meaning: To leave this life, when you die.
To go to a better place
Tone: euphemistic
Meaning: to go to a better place than the Earth possibly “heaven”, when you die.
To go to your reward
Tone: euphemistic
Meaning: In some religions and cults it is assumed that after death, you are rewarded for the actions did in your past life. “Reward” is a prize or a compensation in exchange for one’s actions.
To take a last bow
Tone: euphemistic.
Meaning:To bow means you acknowledge, greet or pay respect to someone leaning upper body forward, often at the end of a show or performance.
If these expressions have scared you, then we apologise. If you’d like to continue learning more English, you can do so by signing up to the ABA English course.
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