kick the bucket

English

WOTD – 6 December 2007

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

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)

1. (idiomatic, euphemistic, colloquial, humorous) To die.

   Synonyms: bite the dust, buy the farm; see also Thesaurus:die

   The old horse finally kicked the bucket.

   • 2015 April 22, Sam Jordison, quoting Jan Morris, “Jan Morris talks about Venice”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     My posthumous book Allegorizings, which will go to press in London and New York the minute I kick the bucket, is loosely governed by my growing conviction that almost nothing in life is only what it seems. It contains nothing revelatory at all.

2. (idiomatic, colloquial, of a machine) To break down such that it cannot be repaired.

   I think my sewing machine has kicked the bucket.

Related terms

• bucket list

Translations

to die

• Afrikaans: skop die emmer (literally “kick the bucket”), gee die gees (literally “give up the ghost”), steek die lepel in die dak (literally “stick the spoon into the roof”), gaan bokveld toe (literally “go to the buck/goat field”), verwissel die tydelike met die ewige (literally “exchange the temporary for the eternal”)
• Albanian: drodhi këmbën (literally “twitched the leg”)
• Breton: lipat e loa (br) (literally “to lick one's spoon”)
• Catalan: estirar la pota (literally “stretch the leg”), dinyar-la (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 翹辮子／翘辫子 (zh) (qiào biànzi)

• Czech: zaklepat bačkorama (cs) (literally “to clap a pair of slippers”)
• Dutch: de pijp uit gaan, het loodje leggen (literally “lay the lot”)
• Finnish: potkaista tyhjää (fi) (literally “to kick a void”)
• French: passer l’arme à gauche (fr) (literally “pass the weapon to the left”), casser sa pipe (fr) (literally “to break one's smoking”)
• German: den Löffel abgeben (de) (literally “give away the spoon”)
• Hungarian: elpatkol (hu), felrúgja a gyertyát, beadja a kulcsot, feldobja a bakancsot, feldobja a talpát
• Italian: tirare le cuoia
• Japanese: くたばる (ja) (kutabaru)
• K'iche': rax kamikal c
• Kannada: ಸಾಯು (kn) (sāyu)
• Korean: 죽다 (ko) (jukda), 뻗다 (ko) (ppeotda, literally “stretch out”)
• Latvian: atdot galus (literally “give up the ends”), nolikt karoti (literally “put down the spoon”)
• Norwegian: legge inn årene (no) (literally “pull one's oars in”), gå i pennalet (no) (literally “hit the pencil-box”)
• Persian: ریق رحمت را سر کشیدن (riq-e rahmat râ sar kešidan)
• Polish: kopnąć w kalendarz (pl) pf, wyciągnąć kopyta (pl) pf, przekręcić się (pl) pf, odwalić kitę (pl) pf, wyciągnąć nogi (pl) pf, pójść do piachu pf, przenieść się na łono Abrahama (pl) pf, wykitować (pl) pf, wykorkować (pl) pf, zawinąć się pf, fajtnąć pf, kojfnąć (pl) pf, kipnąć (pl) pf, pójść do Abrahama na piwo (pl) pf, pożegnać się ze światem (pl) pf, dokonać żywota (pl) pf, przenieść się do Krainy Wiecznych Łowów pf, przenieść się w zaświaty pf, zejść (pl) pf
• Portuguese: bater as botas (pt) (literally “beat one's boots”)
• Romanian: da colțul (literally “turn around the corner”), da ortul popii (literally “pay a coin to the priest”)
• Russian: сыгра́ть в я́щик (ru) (sygrátʹ v jáščik, literally “play into the casket”), почить в бозе (ru) (počitʹ v boze, literally “sleep in God”) (solemn or ironical), преставиться (ru) (prestavitʹsja), приказа́ть до́лго жить (ru) (prikazátʹ dólgo žitʹ, literally “order to live long”), откинуть копыта (ru) (otkinutʹ kopyta, literally “throw away the hooves”), протяну́ть ноги (ru) (protjanútʹ nogi, literally “stretch the legs”), дать ду́ба (ru) (datʹ dúba, literally “give some oak”), коньки́ отбро́сить (konʹkí otbrósitʹ, literally “throw away the skates”)
• Slovak: otrčiť kopytá, otrčiť päty, vystrieť sa na doske
• Slovene: oditi med krilatce
• Spanish: estirar la pata (es) (literally “stretch the leg”), colgar los guayos (literally “hang the football shoes”), irse al otro barrio, colgar los tenis (literally “hang the football shoes”), petatearse (es)
• Swedish: kila runt hörnet (literally “go around the corner”), ta ner skylten (sv) (literally “take the sign down”).
• Telugu: బాల్చీ తన్ను (bālcī tannu)
• Turkish: mezarı boylamak, nalları dikmek (tr)
• Welsh: cicio'r bwced (literally “kick the bucket”)

to break down beyond repair

• Finnish: hajota lopullisesti
• German: endgültig im Eimer sein
• Hungarian: beadja a kulcsot
• Icelandic: eyðilegjast, deyja (is), drepast
• Kannada: ಸರಿಪಡಿಸಲಾಗದಷ್ಟು ಹಾಳಾದ (saripaḍisalāgadaṣṭu hāḷāda)
• Korean: 고장나다 (gojangnada)
• Russian: накрыться медным тазом (ru) (nakrytʹsja mednym tazom)

Further reading

• Gary Martin (1997–) “Kick the bucket”, in The Phrase Finder.
• Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “Kick the bucket”, in World Wide Words.