Expression Definition Context Notes At peace [ 1] Dead Euphemistic At rest [ 1] Dead Polite Augered in Died via aircraft crash Slang As documented in The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe Belly up [ 1] Dead Informal The orientation of fish when dead Beyond the grave [ 1] After death Neutral In reference to communication with the dead Beyond the veil [ 2] The mysterious place after death Neutral Originally used to refer to the 'veil' that hides the innermost sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem . Sometimes refers to just a mysterious place. Big sleep [ 2] To die or be killed Euphemistic Could be in reference to Raymond Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' Bite the dust [ 2] To die or be killed Informal Also means 'failed' Bite the big one [ 2] To die Informal North American . Born asleep Stillbirth Neutral Breathe one's last [ 1] To die Literary Brown bread [ 3] Dead Slang Cockney rhyming slang for 'dead'. Bought the farm [ 2] Died Slang Also, shortened to 'bought it' Bucket list List of things to do before dying Popular culture derivation Derived from the older phrase "kick the bucket"; popularized by the 2007 film The Bucket List Cargo 200 Corpses of soldiers Military slang Military code word used in the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet states referring to the transportation of military casualties Cark-it [ 4] To die Informal, another version of 'croaked it'; common in UK, Ireland, Australia & New Zealand The guy was running, had a heart attack and carked it. Cash in one's chips [ 2] To die Informal, euphemistic [ 5] Redemption for cash of gambling counters at the end of a game Catching the bus [ 6] To commit suicide Slang Originated from the Usenet newsgroup alt.suicide.holiday Charon Ferryman of Hades Neutral Crosses the rivers Styx and Acheron which divide the world of the living from the world of the dead Check out To die Euphemism Choir Invisible To die Humorous British . "Join the choir invisible" Monty Python Dead Parrot Sketch. Come to a sticky end [ 1] To die in a way that is considered unpleasant Humorous British . Also 'to meet a sticky end'. Counting worms [ 5] Dead Euphemistic Croak [ 7] To die Slang Crossed the Jordan Died Biblical/Revivalist The deceased has entered the Promised Land (i.e. Heaven) Curtains Death Theatrical The final curtain at a dramatic performance Dead as a dodo [ 2] Dead Informal The 'dodo ', flightless bird from the island of Mauritius hunted to extinction Dead as a doornail [ 1] Obviously dead Informal Charles Dickens used this phrase at the beginning of A Christmas Carol . Death by misadventure Avoidable death Formal/legal Death resulting from risk-taking Decapitation The act of killing by removing a person's head, usually with an axe or other bladed instrument A much-favoured method of execution used around the world. Notable examples include the French Revolution via guillotine, and the Tudor times using an axe. Deleted Murdered Literary Defenestration The act of killing by throwing a person out of a window Departed [ 1] To die Neutral Destroyed To die Neutral Usually refers to the humane killing of an animal Die in a hole To die Slang Usually used when annoyed at someone Die with one's boots on To die while able, or during activity, as opposed to in infirmity or while asleep. Euphemistic Old West usage: To die in a gunfight, as with the film They Died with Their Boots On . Also connotes dying in combat. British ; cf. Iron Maiden 's Die With Your Boots On . Didn't make it Killed in action (see below) Euphemistic Done for [ 1] About to die Neutral Drop dead [ 1] Die suddenly Neutral also slang aggressive dismissal Dropping like flies [ 8] Dying in droves Simile also falling ill in numbers Entered the homeland 1950s Grave England Euphemistic Erased Murdered Literary Euthanasia Assisted suicide Formal Expire Natural end Neutral Exterminate Kill Directive Exclaimed by Daleks (from Doctor Who ) when ordered to kill Extinct When a species as a whole ceases to exist Formal Fading away [ 1] To be weakening and close to death Neutral Also to be 'fading fast' Fall off one's perch [ 9] To die Informal Fall off the toilet To die, often in an untimely or unexpected manner Informal Food for worms [ 2] Someone who is dead Slang Also 'worm food' Fratricide Murder among siblings Formal Free one's horses To die Neutral Game end To kill Informal Genocide To completely exterminate all of a kind Formal Get smoked To be killed Slang Give up the ghost [ 2] To die Informal The soul leaving the body Glue factory To die Neutral Usually refers to the death of a horse Gone to a better place [ 10] To die Euphemistic Heaven Go over the Big Ridge [ 11] To die Unknown Go bung [ 2] To die Informal Australian . Also means 'to fail' or 'to go bankrupt'. Go for a Burton To die/break irreparably Informal British, from WWII. Go to Davy Jones's locker [ 2] To drown or otherwise die at sea Euphemistic Peregrine Pickle describes Davy Jones as 'the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep'.Go to the big [place] in the sky To die and go to heaven Informal A place in the afterlife paralleling the deceased's life, such as "Big ranch in the sky". [ 12] Go home in a box [ 13] To be shipped to one's birthplace, dead Slang , euphemistic [ 5] Go out with one's boots on/with a bang/in style To die while doing something enjoyed Informal Go to, or head for, the last roundup [ 11] To die Euphemistic Associated with dying cowboys, along with "Going to that big ranch in the sky." Go to one's reward [ 2] To die Euphemistic Final reckoning, just deserts after death Go to one's watery grave [ 1] To die of drowning Literary Go to a Texas cakewalk [ 11] To be hanged Unknown Go the way of all flesh [ 2] To die Neutral Go west [ 2] To be killed or lost Informal Refers to the sun setting at the west. The Grim Reaper [ 2] Personification of death Cultural A skeleton with a scythe , often in a cloak. Also commonly truncated to just "The Reaper". Hand in one's dinner pail [ 2] To die Informal No longer required at workmen's canteen Happy hunting ground Dead Informal Used to describe the afterlife according to Native Americans Hara-kiri (Ritual) suicide by disembowelment Japanese See Seppuku . Often misspelled as Hari-kari. Have one foot in the grave [ 2] To be close to death because of illness or age Informal, sometimes humorous History Dead Informal Usually interpreted as "to be history." (Get) Hit by a bus To die suddenly and prematurely Informal Hop on the last rattler [ 5] To die Euphemistic "Rattler" is a slang expression for a freight train. Hop the twig [ 2] To die Informal Also 'to hop the stick'. Pagan belief that to jump a stick on the ground leads to the Afterworld. In Abraham's bosom [ 2] In heaven Neutral From the Holy Bible , Luke 16:22 . It's clipped To die/be killed Slang New York Slang for saying something is over. Join the choir invisible [ 14] To die Neutral From an 1867 poem by George Eliot . Referenced in the Monty Python Dead Parrot Sketch, also see Choir Invisible. Join the great majority [ 2] To die Euphemistic First used by Edward Young , but the phrase 'the majority' is extremely old. Justifiable homicide Homicide Formal A deliberate homicide that is not a criminal act because the surrounding circumstances justified the use of deadly force. Defending oneself against a deadly attack, for example, or conducting a legally ordered execution. Kermit (suicide) To commit suicide, usually via falling from a great height Humorous Originated from a remixed video of Kermit the Frog from Sesame Street and a Kermit the Frog doll falling off a building. [ 15] Kick the bucket [ 2] To die Informal In suicidal hanging. [ 16] Also 'kick off' (American ). [ 1] Killed In Action (KIA) Death of military personnel due to enemy action Military language, official and informal use King of Terrors [ 2] Personification of death Neutral Of Biblical origin, found in Job 18:14 Also refers to death itself Late [ 17] Used to refer to the recently dead [ 17] Euphemism [ 17] Lay waste To kill slang Lights out To die Slang Going into Eternal Oblivion Liquidation To be killed Euphemism Usually used in political context (such as purges ), implies dehumanization . Lose one's life [ 1] To die in an accident or violent event Neutral Make the ultimate sacrifice [ 1] To die while fighting for a cause Formal Also 'make the supreme sacrifice' Matricide Mother murdered Formal Meet one's maker [ 2] To die Euphemistic According to Christian belief, soul meets God for final judgment Not long for this world [ 1] Will die soon; have little time left to live Old-fashioned Not with us anymore Dead Euphemistic Off on a boat [ 5] To die Euphemistic Viking Off the hooks [ 2] Dead Informal British . Not to be confused with 'off the hook' (no longer in trouble). On one's deathbed [ 1] Dying Neutral On one's last legs [ 2] About to die Informal On the wrong side of the grass Dead Euphemistic slang Refers to the practice of burying the dead. Such individuals are below the grass as opposed to above it, hence being on the "wrong side". One's hour has come [ 1] About to die Literary One's number is up [ 1] One is going to die Slang Oofed To die Humorous Popularized from the video game Roblox ; likely invented to circumvent in-game chat filters. When referring to suicide, one may "oof themselves". Pass away [ 1] To die Euphemism; polite Also 'to pass on' Pass in one's alley [ 2] To die Informal Australian Patricide Father murdered Formal Pay the ultimate price [ 1] To die for a cause or principle Neutral Similar to "To make the ultimate sacrifice" Peg out [ 1] To die Slang British . Also means 'to stop working' Perish Euphemism for death Neutral Pop one's clogs [ 2] To die Humorous , [ 1] Informal [ 2] British . "Pop" is English slang for "pawn." A 19th-century working man might tell his family to take his clothes to the pawn shop to pay for his funeral, with his clogs among the most valuable items. Promoted to Glory Death of a Salvationist Formal Salvation Army terminology. Pull the plug [ 2] To kill, or allow to die Euphemism Removal of life support, such as turning off the power, or "pull the plug" on a ventilator keeping someone alive. Push up daisies [ 2] To have died and be buried under the ground Humorous , [ 1] Euphemistic [ 5] Early 20th century—also 'under the daisies', and 'turn one's toes up to the daisies', which date back to the mid-19th century. (See 'to turn up one's toes' below.) Put down/put to sleep To be euthanised Euphemism Euthanasia of an animal Put one to the sword To kill someone Literary Rainbow Bridge Dead Euphemism Usually referring to the death of a pet, e.g. "Crossing the Rainbow Bridge." Reset character To die Euphemistic slang Refers to video games where "resetting one's character" involves deliberately killing them and letting them respawn or load from a save. Ride the pale horse [ 5] To die Euphemistic In the Biblical passage Revelation 6:8 , a pale horse is ridden by Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse . The expression "behold a pale horse" has been used as the title of a 1964 film by Fred Zinnemann and a 1991 book by ufologist William Milton Cooper . Run one through To kill someone, usually by stabbing Euphemism Send one to Eternity or to the Promised Land To kill someone Literary Send (or go) to the farm To die Euphemism Usually referring to the death of a pet, especially if the owners are parents of young children e.g. "The dog was sent to a farm." Shuffle off this mortal coil [ 1] To die Humorous , Literary [ 2] From the To be, or not to be soliloquy from Shakespeare 's Hamlet . Six feet under [ 2] Dead Informal Six feet is the traditional depth of a grave Sleeping with the fishes Murdered, then disposed of in water. Slang Popularized by The Godfather Slipped away To die peacefully Slang Possibly originated from the poem "Death is Nothing at All" written by Reverend Henry Scott Holland in 1910 following the death of King Edward VII. Step off To die Informal, euphemistic Character Ron Birdwell in the movie The Late Show (1977): "I'm always sorry to hear any of God's creatures stepping off." Struck down [ 1] To be killed by an illness Neutral Usually passive Suicide To take one's own life Formal Swim with concrete shoes Gangster murder Slang Take a dirt nap [ 18] To die and be buried Slang Take a last bow [ 5] To die Slang Take one's own life To commit suicide Euphemism Take/took the easy way out [ 19] To commit suicide Euphemism Based on the original meaning of the phrase of taking the path of least resistance. Take the last train to glory [ 2] To die Euphemism An idiom Christian in origin. Tango Uniform [ citation needed ] Dead, irreversibly broken Military slang This is "T.U." in the NATO phonetic alphabet , an abbreviation for Tits Up (which is itself an euphemism for an airplane crash). Terminate; especially, terminate with extreme prejudice To kill; especially when carrying out an assassination as part of a covert operation. Euphemism; military slang Originated during the Vietnam War ; later popularized by the films Apocalypse Now and The Terminator The Big Adios To die Euphemistic slang Ex: "Live life to the fullest before the big Adios!" To join the whisperers To die Euphemism From the television series Lost : the Whispers were voices of those who died, yet were unable to move on and therefore remained on the island as whispers Turn up one's toes [ 2] To die Slang An alternative of 'turn one's toes up to the daisies' (see 'push up daisies' above.) Unalive (also un-alive) To die, or to kill Euphemistic slang A euphemism that developed in slang on social media, particularly TikTok , to avoid censorship of the words "kill" and "die." Unsubscribe from life To die Euphemistic 21st century slang Waste [ 20] To kill Slang Wearing a pine overcoat (i.e. a wooden coffin)[ citation needed ] Dead Slang Idiom used by American gangsters of the early 20th century. Worm food or worm bait Dead Slang 
