GRUESOMENESS WARNING…
Here is another phrase whose meaning is well understood as a slang phrase for “to die”, but whose origins are severally disputed. There are two main contenders, firstly, when a man was to be hanged in an improvised fashion, he may have been stood upon an inverted bucket whilst the noose was drawn tight, whence the bucket was kicked away and the unfortunate victim left dangling. The second idea comes from the name of a beam from which animals are hung by the back feet whilst being slaughtered – thought to come from the French word trébuchet or buque, meaning “balance”. The animal might spasm whilst dying and thus kick the bucket. It seems unlikely to me that with the weight of the animal pulling down on the legs suspended from the beam, these legs could kick the beam or bucket, however, since some animals were killed by cutting their throats and draining the blood into a bucket below, this is much more likely to be knocked over by a death spasm from the poor beast.
Support for the first explanation comes from William Shakespeare (him again) who used the word in this sense in his play Henry IV Part II where Falstaff says:
“Swifter than he that gibbets on the Brewers Bucket.” — William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II*
Other contenders include the sometimes Roman Catholic practice of placing a bucket of holy water at the feet of a deceased person so that those paying their respects could sprinkle a little of it on the corpse. Another suggestion is that a human being might also spasm at the moment of death by way of stretching out to full length and thus kicking over a bucket that might happen to be at their feet, whilst yet another theory is that goats might be particularly prone to kicking over the bucket of milk that has just been drawn from them.
So take your pick as to the origin of “kicking the bucket” but one thing which is more certain is that the ubiquity of the phrase has given rise to another – Bucket List – a list of things to do before you die! This in turn gave rise to the film title “Things To Do in Denver Before You Die”.
I have a Retrospective bucket list which contains, as far as I can remember and not necessarily in this order:-
- Sailing around the world (by ship not sailing a yaught)
- Designing and converting an old stable into a house and our home
- Completing a novel
- Finding the love of my life
- Painting my masterpiece mural (now sadly gone)
- Taking my part in raising a step-family
- Completing the A to Z Challenge 3 times already
And then there is a list of things I will almost certainly not now achieve before I die (Not a Hope List):-
- Fathering a child of my own
- Surfing
- Climbing or even walking up another mountain
- Making a fortune and distributing it to charity
And my current Bucket List might include:-
- Going on a sea cruise to see the Northern (or Southern) Lights
- Owning a boat be it ever so humble
- Holding great-grandchildren
- Publishing a novel
- Meeting some of the friends I have made online in the real world
- Visiting my Sister in Nova Scotia and other relatives in the US
- Holding an exhibition of paintings -mostly still to be painted…
Know the Ropes…
There can’t be many of us who have not instructed a colleague to show a newcomer the ropes, or have been ourselves, shown the ropes, but I hazard a guess that few of us remember, each time we hear or use this expression, that it it is yet another one from the sailor’s lexicon despite how obvious that should be to see! Below is another picture from a treasured book from my father, who used to be a keen sailor until he got married.
And penultimately, as part of what has become an unexpected extra to this year’s challenge, another Cant language link from Wikipedia. But before that, since there has been a lot of death in this post so the Cockney rhyming slang for dead is “brown bread”.
- Klezmer-loshn, from Eastern Europe
Once again – so interesting and informative. Like you, I have managed to accomplish a good part of bucket list. I do have one that will never happen – visiting Australia. I just can’t deal with the long flights. If I won the lottery (which I don’t play), I’d cruise there and back. LOL!
My A to Z Blogs
DB McNicol – Small Delights, Simple Pleasures, and Significant Memories
My Snap Memories – My Life in Black & White
Yes, we were very lucky to go by ship in the last days of ships as a means of passenger transport, because in 1968, it was still more expensive to fly than to go by ship – despite the enormous amount of food (there was not a lot else to do on ships in those days). To go round the world sparked our imaginations – when we got back, I wanted to go again but taking notes…
I used to milk goats but they rarely kicked the bucket.
I’ve never made bucket lists. Too late now.
My lists were curtailed after I broke my hip in an accident in 1999 but I think it’s never to late to make a bucket list because if you don’t imagine and hope first, nothing can happen – one’s list might get more modest with age but…
Thanks for visiting and I have been over to yours – Ten A to Zs!!!!!
I enjoyed all the various kick the bucket conjecture. My preference would be the first explanation.
Care to share your bucket list Misky?
Thanks for visiting!
I enjoyed your bucket list. Seeing the Northern Lights is a great one.
I’m focused on the April #AtoZChallenge.
Proof of Existence, book two in my dark urban fantasy series, is out this month.
I’m running a giveaway on my blog.
J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Reference& Speculative Fiction Author, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, and Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge
Yes – finishing the A to Z each year is bucket-list huge lol
which is the subject of my “L” post…
https://how-would-you-know.com/2023/04/l-the-two-meanings-of-lol-lady-godiva-and-use-your-head-more-rhyming-slang-and-text-abbreviations.html
Another phrase origin I did not know.
Thanks for visiting again Jamie
I had made a bucket list once upon a time.
Thanks for visiting Chrys – good to meet you – I have been over to yours which I enjoyed and will be revisiting to catch up on earlier posts…
Can’t think why, but it hadn’t occurred to me that “bucket list” referred to things one wanted to do before kicking the bucket! And I like your idea of a retrospective bucket list, as well as your acceptance that at this point there are things you’ll probably never do.
Having a Retrospective List mitigates any regret for the NO Hope list and balances the current Bucket List too. Looking back instead of forward seems to characterise getting older anyway…
So THAT’s what kicking the bucket is all about. I thought the expression “bucket list” came from a movie, but, in any event, it’s good to have one, although it may change over the years. I think the very first thing on my bucket list (when I was a child!) was to visit Australia. I doubt that one is going to happen, given how long such a flight would be (and my fear of flying). Alana ramblinwitham
I thought that some of my choices for this year’s A to Z Challenge might be too well known so I am glad to find that they have brought elucidation to more than one person…
Thanks for visiting Alana!
Love This article ! I also got a blog speaking about philophy : https://easy-philosophy.com/ If you guys want to check it out ! I’m just starting but i’m really passionate about it 😉
Thanks for visiting and I have checked out yours too.