英语词汇kick the bucket的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

kick the bucket. A suicide who stands on a pail, slips a noose around his neck and kicks the pail, or bucket, out from under him would be the logical choice for the origin of this old slang term meaning to die. However, some etymologists say the phrase comes from an entirely different source. Slaughtered hogs, their throats slit, used to be hung by their heels, which were tied to a wooden block and the rope then thrown over a pulley that hoisted the animals up. Because hoisting the block was similar to raising a bucket from a well, the wooden block came to be called a “bucket,” and the dying struggles of the hogs kicking against this “bucket” supposedly gave birth to the phrase. There are other theories, however, and this old expression—it may date back to the 16th century—must be marked “of uncertain origin.”

词汇	kick the bucket
词源	kick the bucket. A suicide who stands on a pail, slips a noose around his neck and kicks the pail, or bucket, out from under him would be the logical choice for the origin of this old slang term meaning to die. However, some etymologists say the phrase comes from an entirely different source. Slaughtered hogs, their throats slit, used to be hung by their heels, which were tied to a wooden block and the rope then thrown over a pulley that hoisted the animals up. Because hoisting the block was similar to raising a bucket from a well, the wooden block came to be called a “bucket,” and the dying struggles of the hogs kicking against this “bucket” supposedly gave birth to the phrase. There are other theories, however, and this old expression—it may date back to the 16th century—must be marked “of uncertain origin.”
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