"Another One Bites the Dust"

[Michael Quinion]

Fred Shapiro wrote:

> Can anyone help me determine whether the phrase "another one bites
> the dust" was popularized by the 1980 Queen song of that name, or
> whether it predated the song?

Presumably you are looking for this exact phrase, not merely for
variations on "bite the dust" in the sense of die? If the latter, I
can give you examples from Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Zane Grey, Robert
Louis Stevenson and even Sir Walter Scott.

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>