Death Idioms and Sayings! List of common expressions, sayings and idioms related to death in English with meaning, ESL picture and example sentences.
Death Idioms and Phrases
List of Idioms and Sayings about Death
- Full Fathom Five
- Kick the Bucket
- Over My Dead Body
- Pop One’s Clogs
- Pushing Up Daisies
- Set in Stone
- Six Feet Under
- Sleep with the Fishes
- Swim with the Fishes
- Whistle Past the Graveyard
- Your Number Is Up
Death Idioms with Meaning and Examples
Full Fathom Five
- Meaning: Lost deep in the sea
- Example: There was a terrible boat accident yesterday. I’m afraid many people are lost full fathom five.
Note: This is rom Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” By now, it’s rather old-fashioned and poetic.
Kick the Bucket
- Meaning: To die
- Example: Before I kick the bucket, I want to visit Iceland.
Over My Dead Body
- Meaning: Under no circumstances
- Example: You’re only 17! You’ll go to that party over my dead body!
Pop One’s Clogs
- Meaning: To die
- Example: In most movies, there’s a happy ending and the villain pops his clogs.
Pushing Up Daisies
- Meaning: Dead and buried
- Example: The Rolling Stones’ music will live on even after they’re all pushing up daisies.
Set in Stone
- Meaning: Fixed; unchangeable
- Example: Nothing is set in stone—we can still change the details of the contract.
Note: This is usually used in the negative, as in the example.
Six Feet Under
- Meaning: Dead and buried
- Example: Even though Michael Jackson is six feet under, his recordings are still making money.
Sleep with the Fishes
- Meaning: Dead, often by murder
- Example: Rocco tried to siphon money off from the Mob for himself. Now he sleeps with the fishes.
Swim with the Fishes
- Meaning: Have been killed, especially with involvement of organized crime
- Example: You won’t be able to ask Carmine about the missing money. He swims with the fishes.
Note: This is old-fashioned Mafia jargon—not terribly common today.
Whistle Past the Graveyard
- Meaning: Remain optimistic despite dangers; be clueless
- Example: Stockbrokers act as though stock prices will always rise, but they’re whistling past the graveyard.
Your Number Is Up
- Meaning: You are going to die (or suffer some bad misfortune or setback).
- Example: When his squadron was surrounded, the soldier thought his number was up.
Death Idioms and Sayings | Image
Useful Idioms Related to Death in English
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