Welcome to the first official post in Typo Away. I figured the best way to start would be with the line from the fanfic that inspired me to create this blog. Without further ado:
Phrase: “You can’t stop and cry every time someone throws in the bucket! – The Dawn to Darkness by dib07
Context: It’s a Sonic fic about war (although it’s more like an excuse to write a pseudo-hardcore war story under the guise of a Sonic fic). I think that’s enough said.
Research: From what I can see, this is a rather unfortunate mixture of two idioms.
To throw in the towel means to give up or admit defeat. It comes from boxing, in which the boxer concedes and stops the match by throwing a towel into the center of the ring.
To kick the bucket is to die. Possible origins of the phrase include suicide (one would stand on a bucket, put one’s head in the noose, and kick the bucket out from under themselves) and pig slaughtering (the beam from which the pig was hung was called a bucket, and kicking the ucket would be the pig’s death throes).
My Thoughts: You know, for a phrase that pulls its origins from very two pessimistic idioms, I laughed really hard. Think about it: throwing a measly little towel in doesn’t have enough of an impact, and kicking a bucket doesn’t net the desired projectile distance. No, when the Grim Reaper comes for me, I’m picking up that bucket and I’m hurling it at his head. Poor Death will never know what hit him.
