meet one's maker

English

Etymology

In various religions, when a person dies, they go to a supernatural place like heaven where they may meet their creator deity.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

meet one's maker (third-person singular simple present meets one's maker, present participle meeting one's maker, simple past and past participle met one's maker)

1. (idiomatic, euphemistic) To die or to pass into the afterlife.
   • 1871, Unknown (Execution ballad), “Execution of Frederick Baker.”, in Curiosities of Street Literature, Comprising "cocks," Or "catch Pennies", page 205:

     On the gallows high he has met his Maker...Your victim waits for you to meet your Maker

   • 1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter IV, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:

     He didn't die for a half-hour after that; nor did he speak again—aloud; but just a few seconds before he went to meet his Maker, his lips moved in a faint whisper.

   • 1969 December 7, Monty Python, “Full Frontal Nudity, Dead Parrot sketch”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese):

     This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies!

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:die

Translations

die, pass into the afterlife

• Finnish: tavata luojansa
• Icelandic: mæta skapara sínum
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: møte sin skaper (no)