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breathe one's last

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Die, as in Aunt Agatha breathed her last on Tuesday. This term was used by Shakespeare in 3 Henry VI (5:2): “Montague has breathed his last.” It has survived but today is considered a poetic euphemism.

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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