to die in one's shoes
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To die a violent death, especially one on the scaffold.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to die in one's shoes” mean?
To die a violent death, especially one on the scaffold.
Is “to die in one's shoes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.