Some thing WICKED this way comes!

[Brazilian dude]

Oh, yeah, and いらっしゃい, by the way.

Brazilian dude

[mbx_pdx]

Thanks for your sentiments!

[tcward]

Yes, very regular! Although not necessarily regular posters...

My computer at home bought the farm, so I am still working on that problem... Makes for less than frequent postings!

-Tim

[Stargzer]

Right arm!

Oops; I mean, Right on!

[Stargzer]

Yes, very regular! Although not necessarily regular posters...

My computer at home bought the farm, so I am still working on that problem... Makes for less than frequent postings!

-Tim

So, your computer paid off your mortgage?

[M. Henri Day]

...

My computer at home bought the farm, so I am still working on that problem...

I can't remember ever hearing this phrase before, but its meaning was immediately obvious to me, which fact would seem to supports the conclusions regarding the etymology of the word found here....

Henri

PS : I hope, Tim, you've got it (the computer, not the farm !) up and running again !...

[Stargzer]

The Online Etymology Dictionary has a similar origin under farm.

World Wide Words dates it from the 1950s, as Air Force slang for a fatal crash, with possible links " . . . to several older British slang sayings, like buy it or buy one (usually in the form “He’s bought one!”). . . . "

The Word Detective has the same derivations, with this addition:

This usage almost certainly also reflected an earlier sardonic slang use of "buy" to mean "to be at fault for damaging," as a driver who crashed his car into a telephone pole might be said to have "bought a telephone pole."

Take Our Word For It's take on it:

I am interested in the origin of the phrase buy the farm. There are derivative euphemisms for sudden death but I can only guess at where the original expression came from. I'll watch your web site.

The explanation which I feel is most likely regarding the origin of bought/buy the farm (which originally meant 'killed/to be killed in action') is this: Young soldiers in the war (World War II) often asked one another what they planned to do when they returned home after the war. A common reply from those hailing from rural regions was that, upon returning home, a soldier would marry his girlfriend, buy a farm in his hometown, and raise children. Upon hearing of the death in action of a fellow soldier, a man would say with sad sarcasm, "He's bought his farm."

That same site also addresses Bite the Dust and Kick the Bucket.

[badandy]

'bite the dust' is Homeric according to the back cover of a translation of the Iliad that I have. Unfortunately I dont have a citation.

[gailr]

Interesting that eating [someone's] dust merely results in social one-down-manship, while biting the dust is instantly fatal. (Perhaps the metaphorical person didn't chew properly and choked?)
-gailr

[badandy]

(Perhaps the metaphorical person didn't chew properly and choked?)

Or perhaps if you're face down in it and bleeding already, there isn't much of a choice!

[Stargzer]

Biting dust is not the cause but rather a side-effect of the act of dying.

[gailr]

Biting dust is not the cause but rather a side-effect of the act of dying.

memo to self: for best odds of resuscitation, avoid biting the dust; try to fall supine.

gailr

Link to CPR info not posted entirely in jest; it's useful for all to know something about this, to help 'respiration-challenged persons' avoid returning to dust before absolutely necessary.

[KatyBr]

Did you know that CPr preformed without a current CPR card after a 'course' given by a Fire Department can be punishable by law? In many states here, you can get instruction in most fire stations, call your local one to find out.


Kt

[tcward]

Did you know that CPr preformed without a current CPR card after a 'course' given by a Fire Department can be punishable by law?

Sad but true...

-Tim

[Stargzer]

Is that true, or is it the converse, that under "Good Samaritan" laws you cannot be held accountable for reasonable efforts make to help someone?

Which reminds me, I need to go back online and recert my defibrillator certificate . . .