Where does the saying “Kick the bucket” come from?
There are two main theories about this one. One suggests that the word doesn’t refer to our modern bucket at all, but to a sixteenth century word that comes from the French buque, meaning a yoke or similar piece of wood. It is said that the word was applied in particular to the beam from which a pig was hung in order to be slaughtered. Inevitably, the pig would struggle during the process, and would kick the buque. The other explanation, much less credible, is that the bucket is the one on which a suicide stands when hanging himself. Kick away the bucket and the job is done.
