six feet under

six feet under

Dead and buried. (Six feet refers to the traditional depth of a grave.) You'll be six feet under when Mom finds out that you dented her brand new car. The way I see it, hoarding all that money won't do you any good once you're six feet under.

See also: feet, six

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

six feet under

Fig. dead and buried. Fred died and is six feet under. They put him six feet under two days after he died.

See also: feet, six

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

six feet under

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.

See also: feet, six

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

six feet under

dead and buried. informal

Six feet is the traditional depth of a grave.

See also: feet, six

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

six feet ˈunder

(informal, humorous) dead and buried in the ground: By then, all the witnesses were six feet under.

See also: feet, six

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

six feet under

mod. dead and buried. They put him six feet under two days after he died.

See also: feet, six

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

six feet under

Dead and buried. The traditional depth of a grave is approximately the length of the coffin. This expression, while making good arithmetical sense, came into use only in the mid-twentieth century. J. Gerson used it in The Omega Factor (1979): “We make sure the dead are stiff and cold and six feet under.”

See also: feet, six

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer