What Does 'kick The Bucket' Mean?

In English the phrase kick the bucket means to die. It is generally considered to be a slang term. A few examples are 'He kicked the bucket at a ripe old age' or 'She was waiting for her miserly husband to kick the bucket'.

The phrase has somewhat bizarre origins. It was initially thought to have some kind of association with suicide. For instance it was widely believed that the phrase originated from the idea that when a person hung himself/herself they would tie a noose around their necks which would be suspended from the ceiling and then stand on a bucket. Finally they would kick the bucket and thus suffocate to death.

Later however it was discovered that the term seems to have been derived from the French word 'trebuchet' which means a balance or the French word buque which means a yoke of sorts.

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