rest his soul
1
9.0
- idiom
- Archaic
- David Stern, his predecessor, God rest his soul, was a quiet taste, but someone I grew to love, you know, collective bargaining.
- God rest his soul
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Watch on YouTubeI booked and China Whites and literally like I, my friend Pete, God rest his soul, had all the best cocaine in the world.
- I booked and China Whites and literally like I, my friend Pete, God rest his soul, had all the best cocaine in the world.
- He don't tell me God, you know, God rest his soul.
- And like I say, try try died, rest his soul.
- My words were this if God rest his soul.
Examples
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She spoke highly of her mentor, saying, "God rest his soul, he was a true inspiration."
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I remember your grandfather fondly; may God rest his soul.
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As we gathered to honor his life, we said a prayer, asking God to rest his soul.
Synonyms
A wish that a dead man finds peace after death
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'rest' (be at peace) with 'his soul', yielding a straightforward wish that his soul be at rest (i.e. rest in peace). This compositional reading is cross-linguistically common and, despite being somewhat formulaic/archaic, a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can reliably infer the intended condolence meaning.
Etymology
Rest his soul comes from an old prayer asking that a person's soul rest after death. Now people say rest his soul as a short, respectful way 'to show respect for a man who has died' when they mention him.