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Glite Dictionary
to push up daisies

to push up daisies

1 8.9
To be dead and buried, often said as a joke
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : estar bajo tierra
  • But if you do come back, you'll be pushing up daisies.

Examples

  • I don't want to think about what will happen if I get sick; I just hope I'm not pushing up daisies anytime soon.

  • If my brother had tried to treat his cancer with scented candles, yoga, meditation, and unnatural dietary regimes, then he'd be pushing up daisies a long time ago.

    Blog text (6)

  • Turning to leave, she stopped cold when he said, "Little sister, would you like to see your mama pushing up daisies?"

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The rest is in dressing stations or pushing up daisies.

    All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

  • If looks could kill, Plank would be pushing up daisies.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • I ain't going nowhere till that little bitch is pushing up daisies! - Period! -

    Standoff (2016)

  • You're sitting here talking to me; you ain't pushing up daisies.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • There can be no ambiguity about who the winner is when all of the other contenders are pushing up daisies.

    Blog text (20)

  • Myrtle vows to find the murderer before she's pushing up daisies herself.

    Blog text (2)

  • After a long and happy life, her grandmother is finally pushing up daisies in the garden.

Synonyms

to kick the bucket
vsto push up daisies
  • Informal
7 8.6

To die, said in casual or joking speech

uses a burial image rather than this informal idiom
to pop off
vsto push up daisies
  • Informal
1 9.1

To die, often said as a joke to make it seem less serious

uses a burial image rather than a casual euphemism

Antonyms

to be born
∞ 1.0

To start life as a baby when you come into the world

Surface Forms

push up daisies infinitive
pushed up daisies past
pushed up daisies past participle
pushing up daisies present participle
pushes up daisies third person singular

Morphology

push + up + daisies

Although the words 'push', 'up' and 'daisies' are individually transparent, the euphemistic image (flowers growing from a grave) that yields the meaning 'to die' is metaphorical and culture-specific rather than compositional. A B1 learner who knows the constituents would not reliably derive the idiomatic sense without prior exposure, so this expression is best classified as opaque.

Etymology

The idiom push up daisies paints a picture of a buried body with flowers growing above it, as if the body is pushing up the daisies. So, saying someone will push up daisies is a joking way to say they will 'die' or be 'buried'.