die with one's boots on
Save This Word!
Also, die in harness. Expire while working, keep working to the end, as in He'll never retire—he'll die with his boots on, or She knows she'll never get promoted, but she wants to die in harness. Both phrases probably allude to soldiers who died on active duty. Until the early 1600s the noun boot denoted a piece of armor for the legs, which may have given rise to this usage; and Shakespeare used harness in the sense of armor when he wrote: “At least we'll die with harness on our back” (Macbeth 5:5).
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Words nearby die with one's boots on
diet pyramid, Dietrich, Dietrich von Bern, Dieu et mon droit, Dieu vous garde, die with one's boots on, dif, diff, diffeomorphism, differ, difference
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.