shuffle off this mortal coil
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Epheumism for die.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: aye, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause.
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Euphemism (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “shuffle off this mortal coil” mean?
Epheumism for die.
Is “shuffle off this mortal coil” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.