phrase
General Slang
about to kick the bucket
uh-BOWT too KIK thuh BUK-it · phrase · informal
Patient critically ill and likely to arrest
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Definitions
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Blunt nursing shorthand that a patient is critically unwell and may soon deteriorate into cardiac arrest.
“Obs are crashing — she looks about to kick the bucket.”
by community
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about to kick the bucket In A Sentence
Obs are crashing — she looks about to kick the bucket.
Origin & Usage
General idiom for dying, used at the bedside.
Variants
kick the bucket
People Also Ask
What does 'about to kick the bucket' mean at the bedside?
It is blunt nursing shorthand that a patient is critically unwell and may soon deteriorate into cardiac arrest or death.
Where does 'kick the bucket' come from?
It is a long-standing general English idiom for dying, borrowed for casual use in clinical settings.
Is it appropriate to say around patients?
No. It is dark, informal staff talk, not something said in front of patients or families.
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