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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread The Final Purchase #119115 01/08/04 03:01 AM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,788 Seattle, Washington, USA Father Steve OP Carpal Tunnel OP Father Steve Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,788 Seattle, Washington, USA I just sent an e-mail message in which I reported that the geranium on the front porch "bought it" during the recent snowstorm in the Pacific Northwest. That got me to wondering: bought what? I have heard the expression "bought the farm" as a euphemism for human demise, but I don't know to what that refers, either. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: The Final Purchase #119116 01/08/04 05:00 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta B Bingley Carpal Tunnel Bingley Carpal Tunnel B Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta I thought I read this on Quinion but I can't find it now. Assuming I didn't imagine the whole thing, the explanation given was that pilots in WWII used this as a euphemism for being shot down. The idea being that the presumably deceased had actually saved up enough from his salary to buy some land and settle down with a wife, which was why no-one ever saw him flying again. Bingley Bingley Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: The Final Purchase #119117 01/08/04 05:07 AM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,788 Seattle, Washington, USA Father Steve OP Carpal Tunnel OP Father Steve Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,788 Seattle, Washington, USA It'll be embarrassing to the Old Padre if you read it here, on AWAD, and I missed it when searching the board. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: The Final Purchase #119118 01/08/04 11:29 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 What I got in my Junk Drawer Memory® is that it derives from the notion that a sailor, back in the old days of the Rocks and Shoals, wnated nothing more than to get as far from the sea as possible, buy a farm and settle down. Hence the euphemism, 'he finally bought the farm.' But what with the history of these romantic sounding etymologies these days, I dunno. According to Dave Wilton the phrase 'buying it' predates the phrase 'buy the farm' by over a century: http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorb.htm#buyfarm Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: The Final Purchase #119119 01/08/04 01:09 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Father Steve, I'm sorry, but get ready to turn red: http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=12050 Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: The Final Purchase #119120 01/08/04 01:13 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,788 Seattle, Washington, USA Father Steve OP Carpal Tunnel OP Father Steve Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,788 Seattle, Washington, USA Good Lord! It wuz me what started it last time, too. I guess whole pieces of my memory are deciduating. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,915 Posts229,995 Members9,198 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members testawad, Bill_L, achz, MAGNVSTALSMA, Burlyfish 9,198 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 members (), 868 guests, and 1 robot. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 27 A C Bowden 14 LukeJavan8 6 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 10,957 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,956 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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