[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey (OP)]

Just curious, I don't know.

[Bored chemist]

Are you expecting replies along the lines of "I died two years ago"?

[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey (OP)]

Are you expecting replies along the lines of "I died two years ago"?

I bet you had to look up the phrase "bought the farm" before replying.

[Bored chemist]

Are you expecting replies along the lines of "I died two years ago"?

I bet you had to look up the phrase "bought the farm" before replying.

You are wrong.
Is there anything else you would like to advertise your ignorance about?

[alancalverd]

I bought a bit of a farm (the old stables, to be precise) 10 years ago and have been living in it ever since. No complaints.

[paul cotter]

Indeed, that sounds to me as having been a wise investment. Having "bought the farm" means having purchased a piece of agricultural land with cash or in kind. Any other meaning is an abuse of the English language. The alternate unofficial meaning ascribed to the phrase in question makes no sense at all.

[Bored chemist]

Indeed, that sounds to me as having been a wise investment. Having "bought the farm" means having purchased a piece of agricultural land with cash or in kind. Any other meaning is an abuse of the English language. The alternate unofficial meaning ascribed to the phrase in question makes no sense at all.

The meanings of all words and phrases are arbitrary.
Why single out this one?

[paul cotter]

For sure all languages evolve over time. At a given moment in time words in the English language and also the German language( from which English is largely derived ) generally have precise meanings. I did not pick on this phrase, pseudo raised the subject and I commented. Personal opinion, I think it's a stupid phrase and others may differ, that's fine by me. For the record, I had to look it up as I had never come across it before.

[Bored chemist]

It's interesting. I'm sure the phrase "kicked the bucket" is more common, but- at least to me- it's more difficult to work out the connection between what it says and what it means.

[alancalverd]

Apart from actual land purchase, I've only come across the phrase in the context of aircraft coming into lethal and unintended contact with the ground, where it is entirely consistent with the black humor and understatement  that run through the aviation business. "Having recovered from an unusual attitude¹ , he made an interesting² approach to an unapproved target³ and bought the farm⁴"

¹ - perhaps an inverted spin
² - at least partially stalled and out of control
³ - a mile short of the runway
⁴ - like shopping for glassware or tomatoes: if you break it, you must buy it

[Bored chemist]

When I heard the phrase the implication was different.
Someone's life insurance paid for their next of kin's farm.

[alancalverd]

Which is the probable origin of my footnote 4 above. Many thanks.

[Bored chemist]

It's not clear who ended up owning the farm.
Was it the deceased's next of kin, or the government?
I don't suppose it matters much.

This was  a daft thing to say anyway:

I bet you had to look up the phrase "bought the farm" before replying.