What Is the Origin of the Phrase “Bought the Farm”?

You've probably come across the expression “bought the farm,” but do you know what it means? And have you ever wondered where it came from? While phrases relating to "buying it" have referred to death as far back as the 1820s, the specific colloquialism “bought the farm” didn't become part of the English lexicon until the 1950s. One of its earliest uses in print was in the New York Times magazine in March 1954.

Although its etymology is unclear, “bought the farm” may have originally referred to combat pilots killed in action. It has been theorized that “bought the farm” originated with the idea that a soldier’s death benefits would enable his family to pay off their mortgage, thereby allowing them to buy their farm outright. Another theory suggests that the phrase was inspired by the compensation farmers received when their property was damaged by crashes involving military aircraft.

However, there is little concrete evidence to support either of these theories. Instead, some lexicographers believe that “the farm” is a metaphor for a burial plot. In other words, when someone “bought the farm”, they became a landowner, or inhabitant, of a cemetery plot.

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