“Kick the bucket” is one of the most obscure and intriguing idioms in the English language (and one of my favorites).
Meaning:
It is a euphemistic and colloquial way to say “to die” (eg. “he kicked the bucket” ) or, if referred to a machine (e.g. “the car kicked the bucket”), “to break down irreparably”.
Origin and Etymology:
Its first appearance dates back to 1785 in Francis Grose's work, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.
According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), its disputed etymology might come from:
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Someone standing on a bucket preparing to hang themselves, would then kick the bucket in order to commit suicide.
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According to an archaic use, the term "bucket" identified the beam from which pigs were hung before being slaughtered. The expression would then describe pigs' death throes.
Ludwig's wrap-up:
Even if the first one sounds more speculative, and the second one more plausible, I don’t like any of them. I prefer thinking at Bruce Lee kicking a bucket. It is funnier and easier to remember.
Did you get the joke? If you did not, here is a hint: Bruce Lee died on July 20, 1973, at the age of 32.
There is another idiom related to this one: “bucket list”, I suggest to take a look!
By the way, if you haven’t seen any of Bruce Lee’s movies, here is a list of must watch:
