passer l'arme à gauche
French edit
Etymology edit
Literally, “pass the weapon to the left”. When right-handed soldiers needed to reload their rifle in the 17th century, they would hold it in their left hand to make it easier. However, long walks across battlefields were tedious and left reloading soldiers easy targets.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
- (informal) to kick the bucket, to die
Further reading edit
Passer l’arme à gauche : signification et origine de l’expression, Linternaute.