Brewer's: Kick the Bucket

(To). A bucket is a pulley, and in Norfolk a beam. When pigs are killed, they are hung by their hind-legs on a bucket or beam, with their heads downwards, and oxen are hauled up by a pulley. To kick the bucket is to be hung on the balk or bucket by the heels.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Related Content