Buy the farm

[Dave Wilton]

There are variations of "buy it" or "buy one," referring to death or defeat
in battle, dating back to the early 19th century.

The "farm" is likely a euphemism for a grave, a piece of land, as it were,
perhaps facetiously doubling for the desire to buy agricultural land after
the war. "Bought a plot" appears by 1954. "Buy the farm" appears in print a
year later.

Partridge also claims WWI slang "become a landowner," meaning to die. But as
is often the case with him, evidence for this is lacking.

See http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/more/209/


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
George Thompson
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:45 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Buy the farm

This tune is also on a 4-CD box-set from Proper, Bud Powell, Tempus
Fugue-It, on CD #1, Blue Garden Blues, track 4, recorded January 4, 1944.

Unfortunately, what I hear is:
Some will take the factory/That won't do no harm/Got to do some war work,
baby/ Guess I'll take the farm.
I don't know no aircraft,/I just play a horn/Got to do some war work, baby/
Guess I'll take the farm.
Since we've got to work or fight ***

If I recall, the last time we discussed this expression, there was a
disposition to accept an explanation that the phrase was originated by test
pilots, who were thinking that when a test pilot crashed, the occupant of
the land his plane hit got a settlement that enabled him to buy it, or pay
off the mortgage.  The pilot was thus buying the farm for someone else.
This doesn't seem a likely story to me.  I connect it with the dream of all
men doing a dangerous job, whether test pilots or librarians -- well, maybe
not librarians -- "I'm not going to do this much longer, you know.  In a
year or so I'm going to go back home, buy a farm and settle down."  When he
crashes his plane, his comrades say, "Well, old Joe finally bought the
farm."

Speaking of test pilots and librarians, I have retired from the
proving-ground for mediocrity where I have been employed these last few
decades, so you-uns will not in the future be seeing messages from me
describing strange and border-line useless books as "available at better
libraries everywhere", which has always signified, "available at Bobst
Library, because I ordered it".

GAT
George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ.
Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: neil <neil at TYPOG.CO.UK>
Date: Monday, November 12, 2007 9:56 am
Subject: Buy the farm
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU


> I note that RHDAS gives a date of 1954 for 'buy the farm' with the
> sense of
> 'to die'.
>
> I was listening to 'Early Bud Powell 1944-1946' at the weekend in
Somerset.
> The fourth track, by Cootie Williams Sextet, recorded on 4 January
> 1944, is
> titled 'Gotta Do Some War Work'.
>
> The refrain makes mention of "buy the farm".
>
> If anyone's interested I could transcribe the words, next time I'm in
> the
> country...
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org