debt of nature
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English[edit]
Noun[edit]
- (euphemistic) Death, seen as an obligation that all living creatures must eventually "pay".
- 1850, T. S. Arthur, “Deacon Smith and his Violin”, in Sketches of Life and Character[1], Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 76:
- Ten years after he had seen his son married[sic], become a church member, and give up his carnal delights, old Deacon Smith paid the debt of nature. His last days he always called his best days.