Die With Your Boots On

Die With Your Boots On

To "Die with your boots on" is an idiom referring to dying while fighting or to die while actively occupied/employed/working or in the middle of some action. A person who dies with their boots on keeps working to the end, as in "He’ll never quit—he’ll die with his boots on." The implication here is that they died in violence, as in gunfights or by hanging and didn’t die of old age and/or experience of being bedridden with illness, infirmity, etc.

Origin

The "Die with your boots on" idiom originates from frontier towns in the 19th century American West. Some sources (e.g. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms) say that the phrase probably originally alluded to soldiers who died on active duty. The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms says: “Die with your boots on was apparently first used in the late 19th century of deaths of cowboys and others in the American West who were killed in gun battles or hanged.” Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang adds that from the late 17th century until the early 19th century the expression meant ‘to be hanged,’ and from the mid 17th century until the mid 19th century Die in one's shoes meant the same thing.

Related Terms

  • Boothill

In Popular Culture


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • die with your boots on — die with (your) boots on to die while you are still actively involved in your work. I never want to retire I d rather die with my boots on …   New idioms dictionary

  • die with boots on — die with (your) boots on to die while you are still actively involved in your work. I never want to retire I d rather die with my boots on …   New idioms dictionary

  • Die Ärzte — For the albums, see Die Ärzte (album) and Die Ärzte (2002 album). The title of this article contains the character Ä. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Die Aerzte. Die Ärzte …   Wikipedia

  • Gone with the Wind — This article is about the novel. For the film, see Gone with the Wind (film). For other uses, see Gone with the Wind (disambiguation). Gone With the Wind …   Wikipedia

  • Albums de reprises d'Iron Maiden — Voici une liste des albums hommages à Iron Maiden et des chansons reprises de Iron Maiden. Sommaire 1 Albums hommages 1.1 Made In Tribute 1.2 A Call To Irons 1.3 A Call To Irons 2 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Список трибьютов группе Iron Maiden — Ниже представлен список трибьют альбомов британской хеви метал группе Iron Maiden. Список упорядочен преимущественно по дате выхода. Содержание 1 Made In Tribute (1998) 2 A Call to Irons (1998) 3 A Call to Irons Vol. 2 (1999) …   Википедия

  • Maxx Klaxon — Birth name Max Clarke[1] Origin Florida, USA …   Wikipedia

  • Eddie's Head — Infobox Album Name = Eddie s Head Type = box Artist = Iron Maiden Released = Recorded = Genre = Length = Label = Producer = Reviews = Last album = This album = Next album = An Iron Maiden large box set in the shape of Eddie s head. Containing the …   Wikipedia

  • 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die — infobox Book | name = 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die author = General Editor: Robert Dimery, Preface by Michael Lydon. Selected and Written by Leading International Critics. cover artist = Jon Wainright country = United States language …   Wikipedia

  • 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die — Auteur éditeur général : Robert Dimery, préface de Michael Lydon. Sélection et rédaction par des critiques internationaux Genre Ouvrage de référence Pays d origine États Unis ISBN original 0 7893 1371 5 Éditeur …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”