to cash in one's chips
- idiom
- Informal
:
estirar la pata
- After a long illness, he finally cashed in his chips last night.
Examples
-
The detective learned that the suspect had cashed in his chips a week ago.
-
Some people say you should travel as much as possible before you cash in your chips.
-
He finally decided to cash in his chips after a long battle with illness.
-
Don't worry, he hasn't cashed in his chips just yet.
-
After a long illness, he finally cashed in his chips last night.
-
Many friends and family were saddened when she cashed in her chips after her brave fight against cancer.
-
Despite his cheerful attitude, he knew he would eventually cash in his chips from his terminal disease.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To stop living and no longer be alive
∞
5.6
To stop working or start to fail
537
3.8
To stop living
121
6.0
To die suddenly or violently, often in large numbers
62
9.9
To stop living, used in formal or old language
57
9.9
To die suddenly from an accident or attack
52
8.4
Die suddenly, often from shock or extreme tiredness
32
9.0
To die, said in a casual or joking way
31
8.6
To die, often used in medical or formal speech
10
8.6
To die
8
3.8
To die peacefully in a gentle, respectful way
7
8.6
To die, said in casual or joking speech
5
9.9
To die suddenly, often in an accident or during fighting
4
8.1
To die or stop working after a long time of problems
2
9.9
To stop living and not come back
1
9.1
To die, often said as a joke to make it seem less serious
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal sense — exchanging gambling 'chips' for 'cash' — is directly derivable from the constituents, so a learner who knows the words can infer the concrete gambling meaning. However, the extended idiomatic uses (to quit/retire or figuratively to take one’s gains and leave, sometimes even to die) require cultural/gambling knowledge and a metaphorical shift, so the full figurative meaning is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom cash in one's chips comes from gambling, where players turned their chips, the small pieces used to bet, into cash when they left the table. So saying someone 'cashed in their chips' became a dark joke for 'to die', because they have left the table of life.