this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2026
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It's funny hearing that phrase in English. It's a very common saying in German. Do you happen to know if it was translated or is it already common in Australia?
It's common in the US, too. It's probably a reference to Matthew 27:50, which in the KJV says "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost"
That must be it. Great catch!
I'm curious, is "bought the farm" also as saying in Germany?
I've never heard of it nor could I find it in a lexicon of German sayings. What does it mean?
I guess it's more of an American context. Someone "buying the farm" is a euphemism for them dying.
The explanation I've heard before is that it comes from the life experience of actual farmers. Someone getting started as a farm owner has to take out a very large loan to purchase a plot of land. If they have a family, they probably have a life insurance policy big enough to pay off that mortgage and provide for their family if they die young. So, if someone in that situation dies, their family gets enough money to pay off the mortgage. Through their death they "buy the farm."
I think it may be a term originating from the WW1 or WW2 eras. There were a lot more young men purchasing farms back then, and with the casualties from the wars, there were a lot more of them "buying the farm."
It is a pretty common phrase in Australia - though mostly among older, more “stereotypical” Aussies.
But like with most things here, it all but surely originated in Europe and was brought over by migrants sometime between 50 and 100 years ago!
It's common in South Africa too.