Why does "bought the farm" mean die? Where did that saying come from?

[Shell Beau]

[Jazz2006]

1. Its origin seems to be in dispute.

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/farm.htm

[Shell Beau]

2. Haha!! You can find anything on Snopes!!

:rofl: Thanks!

[kay1864]

3. Or on The Straight Dope

www.straightdope.com

[Jazz2006]

9. Hee hee - you're welcome :)

I was quite surprised that Snopes was the within the top few links when I googled it.

:rofl:

[Deep13]

4. Huh. Had always assumed it refered to life insurance.

My Dad literally bought his farm when he died and the mortgage insurance paid-out.

How about "kick the bucket?"

"Bite the dust" seems to suggest falling on ones face.

"Shit the bed" probably refers to the sudden lack of bowel control at death.

"Popped his clogs?" Maybe a reference to burying corpses shoeless.

"Augered in" is an aeronautic reference perhaps refering to the spiralling path of an out of control aircraft.

[Xithras]

5. Yep, that's the way I understood it.

Farmers worked mortgaged land their entire lives, but could only "buy" it when they died and their insurance paid out. It wasn't neccesarily a demeaning term either. For a poor family farmer working hard to make ends meet, having the mortgage paid off often meant comparative wealth and good-times for their surviving family members. Saying someone bought the farm was a somewhat respectful way of acknowledging that their death had permitted their widow and childen to become landowners.

[libodem]

6. What about 'hit the spinach'?

[KamaAina]

7. Or "went West"?

Does that mean people have to come out here to die?

Actually, native Hawaiians believe that the northwesternmost point of each island (Ka'ena Point on O'ahu) is the jumping-off place for souls. :eyes:

[trof]

8. Us pilots always thought it was the burial plot

a guy "bought" when he was shot down/crashed.

[Lars39]

10. In my mind...

Bought the farm = retired to the country = out of sight,out of mind = dead.
Or life insurance pays off to the widow, enabling her to buy the farm.