shuffle off this mortal coil

shuffle off this mortal coil

To die. An allusion to a line in Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which Hamlet muses on what happens to the spirit after death. I've been giving my money away to my children over the past few years—I don't want them squabbling over it when I shuffle off this mortal coil. I heard that Jenkins shuffled off this mortal coil over the weekend.See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this

shuffle off this mortal coil

Euph. to die. (Often jocular or formal euphemism. Not often used in consoling someone.) Cousin Fred shuffled off this mortal coil after suffering a heart attack. When I shuffle off this mortal coil, I want to go out in stylebells, flowers, and a long, boring funeral.See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this

shuffle off this mortal coil

die. literary Shuffle off this mortal coil is a quotation from Shakespeare 's Hamlet. This mortal coil is sometimes used independently to mean ‘the fact or state of being alive’, with the suggestion that this is a troublesome state, since coil retains here its archaic sense of ‘turmoil’. 1986 Dudley Moore Off-Beat He was just one of a number of distinguished composers who have shuffled off their mortal coil in a variety of unusual ways. See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this

shuffle off this mortal ˈcoil

(old-fashioned or humorous) die: They believe that when they shuffle off this mortal coil their souls will become stars.This expression comes from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this

shuffle off this mortal coil

Die. This phrase that appears in Hamlet combines the archaic meaning of two words. “Shuffle” meant “rid,” while “coil” meant “troubles.” As Shakespeare put it, “What dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil / Must give us pause.”See also: coil, mortal, off, shuffle, this