six feet under

Idioms  

1. Dead and buried, as in No, you can't read my diary—not until I'm six feet under. Although this expression alludes to what has long been the traditional depth of a grave, that is, approximately the same as the length of the coffin, it dates only from the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

Had May not gone to the hospital, “I would have been six feet under that night,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2025

Here in the U.S., fewer and fewer of us are choosing to spend our afterlife six feet under.

From Salon • Oct. 22, 2023

If I were a jerk, my advice would be to suck it up because the guy is 100 years old and he may be six feet under by the time this column is published.

From Slate • Dec. 1, 2020

Michigan took Notre Dame's season and buried it six feet under.

From Golf Digest • Oct. 28, 2019

“Remember the old seal hunter in Nova Zembla who told us about it? It must be six feet under now.”

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman