<P> To kick the bucket is an English idiom, considered a euphemistic, informal, or slang term meaning' to die' . Its origin remains unclear, though there have been several theories . </P> <P> A common theory is that the idiom refers to hanging, either as a method of execution or suicide . However, there is no evidence to support this . Its earliest appearance is in the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785), where it is defined as' to die' . In John Badcock's slang dictionary of 1823, the explanation is given that "One Bolsover having hung himself from a beam while standing on a pail, or bucket, kicked this vessel away in order to pry into futurity and it was all UP with him from that moment: Finis". </P>

The meaning of the idiom kick the bucket