Why does bought the farm mean dead

John Holland, among various other soldiers, has left his wife, Marry, at home to take care of his family. She takes care of the newspaper in Tennessee and passes her time in telling stories when the FBI approaches her about the death of farmer Griffith at which she feels threatened. She then leaves the town to run for her life. This makes her paranoid about the risks and dangers of her life.

The title of the novel shows the use of this phrase in its literal meanings. American soldiers in the Frist World War carried life insurance. If a soldier were killed, the insurance would pay out, and so a farm he had bought with mortgage could be paid for with the insurance money. Also Throw a seven.

Mrs Tiggywinkle? It's PC Bobs, here. I'm afraid I have some upsetting news. Your husband was crossing the M4 and, well I'm afraid he bought the farm. Squashed flatter than a witch's tit. He was. We scraped Him up as best we could. He's in this bucket. One, put forward in a edition of American Speech , is the idea that when a jet crashes on a farm the farmer may sue the government for compensation.

That would generate a large enough amount of money to pay off the farm's mortgage. Hence, the pilot paid for the farm with his life. The second theory is that military men might dream of returning from the battlefront and settling down with a family to a peaceful life down on the farm. If someone were killed his colleagues might say, 'well, he bought the farm early', or similar.

Well, yes they might, and there are numerous sentimental US films where dialogue like that wouldn't be out of place.