Dictionary

eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die en · X

Etymology

A conflation of two Biblical references: * Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry * Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we [shall] die A direct quote from the Book of Mormon: * Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

Meanings

1. Life is short, so you should enjoy it while you can.
   • Eat, drink, and be merry / For tomorrow, we'll die / Cause we're tripping billies 1996, “Tripping Billies”, in Remember Two Things, performed by Dave Matthews Band:
   • But are more inclined to take for their guide the maxim of "a penny saved is a penny got" than that of "let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die." 1977, Bartlett Jere Whiting, Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, →ISBN, page 127:
   • Vovo said, only half arguing, “Who can you point out that ever profited by this moderation teaching? Who in history every got anywhere practicing moderation? Some say you must live to the hilt. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” 2011, Mack Reynolds, Tomorrow Might Be Different, →ISBN:
   • I’ve got some decent Margaux in the cellar. Let’s get back to my place tout de suite and crack it open. You know what they say. Eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we die. 2017, Simon Kernick, chapter 49, in The Hanged Man, London: Century, →ISBN, page 295:
   • The younger decided to leave and live the fast life and be carefree—eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. 2013, Carvel Collins, Fighting With Purpose: I'm in It to Win It, →ISBN, page 106:
   • These warnings sound strange to our lives, molded so often on the assumption that this life is the only one we can be sure of, and hence, while we have it, we should eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. 1936 March 30, Fulton J[ohn] Sheen, “Dying to Live”, in The Moral Universe: A Preface to Christian Living, Milwaukee, Wis.: The Bruce Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 51:
2. In speaking pejoratively of epicurean beliefs.
   • Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God. 1830, Joseph Smith Jr., chapter 28, in The Book of Mormon^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Book_of_Mormon_(1981)/2_Nephi#Chapter_28), 2 Nephi:
   • Americans are led to believe that the normal American family consists of children and adults who are disrespectful to their elders, make a practice of lying, use situational ethics to solve problems, cheat on their mates, indulge in pre-marital sex, deny the existence of God, and live by the belief that we must eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. 1993, Brannon Howse, “Hollywood and the Media: War on the Traditional Family”, in Cradle to College: Stopping the Educational Abduction of America’s Children, Before It’s Too Late!, Green Forest, Ark.: New Leaf Press, →ISBN, page 174:
   • Instead of saying as the epicure, "let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die;" or on the other hand, murmuring against the appointments of God, and indulging our vain objections; let us seek for a lively hope, a submissive will, and a contented mind 1815, Thomas Scott, The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments : with original notes, practical observation, and copious marginal references, page 35:
   • But, clearly, hedonism was not his personal philosophy. Unlike those who suggest that we should eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die, he found no ultimate satisfaction in living in the moment just for the experience of pleasure. 2004, Michael G. Long, “Keep On Keeping On: Creative Living in the Past, Present, and Future”, in Martin Luther King Jr. on Creative Living, St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, →ISBN, page 67:

Forms

Relateds

seize the day · eat, drink and be merry · carpe diem · gather rosebuds · here for a good time, not a long time