Idiom
go over to the majority
Meaning
To die.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The old king finally went over to the majority.”
“After a long and difficult illness, the grandfather went over to the majority in his sleep.”
“The historian noted that many of the revolutionary leaders had already gone over to the majority by the time the war ended.”
Examples
simple
“The old king finally went over to the majority.”
contextual
“After a long and difficult illness, the grandfather went over to the majority in his sleep.”
complex
“The historian noted that many of the revolutionary leaders had already gone over to the majority by the time the war ended.”
Origin
The idiom alludes to the numerical superiority of the deceased over the living. It is a euphemism for death based on the demographic observation that the majority of human beings who have ever existed are no longer present to discuss the matter. The living are, by comparison, a distinct and somewhat outnumbered minority.
Key words
Related idioms
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